Solar roof tiles are the latest in home solar energy products in the renewable solar energy market and are slowly taking over from the bulky photovoltaic or PV panels that are commonly used on roof tops to generate solar energy. So what are solar roof tiles, how do they work, are they better than PV panels and how can they work for you to create free green electricity for your home.
Solar Roof Tiles operate in the same way as PV solar panels. The main advantage of using solar roof tiles over the larger solar panels is that they are manufactured to the same standard size as large roof tiles found on many homes today. They can be built into a new roof at the time of building or into an existing roof. The roof construction is the same as for a standard roof and should follow current building regulations and guidelines. Solar roof tiles operate at optimum efficiency if they are positioned facing south to get maximum exposure to the sun.
Advantages of Installing Solar Roof Tiles
For the solar roof tiles to work they only require daylight and not sunlight, and will generating your house electricity even on a cloudy day. Solar roof tiles can be installed on almost any roof and can be quickly and easily connected to homes electricity supply. Solar roof tiles have no moving parts so are totally silent, produce no heat and blend into the look and style of your home. Each tiles is self contained with connection to the adjacent tile so you can have as many or as few as you need. The life expectancy of solar roof tiles is approximitly 20-30 years, which is about the same for regular roof tiles. Many solar roof tiles systems are design in such a way to allowing you to add or replace individual tiles if any become damaged or faulty.
How do Solar Roof Tiles Work?
1. Sunlight hits the PV cells on the solar roof tiles and then is converted into green electricity. The main advantage over older solar system is that these cells only require daylight and don’t rely on direct sunlight, so the tiles carry on producing electricity even on cloudy days.
2. The electricity generated by the tiles passes along cables to an inverter. The inverter converts the green electricity from direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC), which is then used in your house exactly the same way as the electricity from the grid.
3. In some cases when the solar roof tiles produce more green electricity than you need in your home, you can then exported this surplus back to your energy company and get paid for the amount you supply. If your worried about what happens at night when the solar roof tiles are not producing electricity there is no need to be, you use electricity in the normal way by using it from the grid.
So if your looking to go a little greener and start producing your own electricity but don’t want the ugly look of large solar panels bolted to your roof then solar roof tiles are the way forward. They allow you to keep the look for your home while producing you green electricty and reduce those bills in a time when house hold bills are on the rise. And if your lucky enough to live where the sun shines all day long then you may even produce more green electricity that you need which you can sell back to the energy company.
