The Dow Chemical Company of Midland, MI, USA has expanded the availability of its DOW POWERHOUSE Solar Shingle, a residential roofing system that protects a home (like a standard shingle) but also contains embedded thin-film copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) photovoltaic solar cells to power it.
Backed by a 20 year performance warranty, DOW POWERHOUSE is a dual-functioning system certified as both a roofing and solar product. The turnkey package includes a custom-designed system for each home, the inverter to convert DC to useable AC electricity, the utility interconnection so that credit is obtained for the electricity generated, and a web-based monitoring system that provides real-time system performance.
Dow has been piloting the POWERHOUSE Solar Shingle in Colorado, Northern California and Central Texas since earlier this year, and is now expanding availability to homeowners in New York, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Washington DC, Louisiana and Michigan.
"We're expanding availability in strategically chosen markets where there is strong interest, where electricity costs are high, and where the market is already supporting solar through legislation and incentives," says Mauro Gregorio, president of Dow Energy Solutions. "These markets have motivated homeowners who are interested in finding ways to bring down their energy costs." The residential homebuilding market is starting to pick up, and buyers are seeking smarter homes that cost less to own, adds Jane Palmieri, vice president, Dow Solar.
POWERHOUSE is offered through a network of professional roofing contractors who have become authorized dealers, serving the re-roof and custom home market; and through homebuilders creating POWERHOUSE Solar Communities.
Dow is already working with DR Horton in Denver, CO and Imagine Homes in San Antonio, TX, both creating solar communities using POWERHOUSE as a standard feature on their new homes. As part of the POWERHOUSE expansion, three new firms involved in 'green homebuilding' technology and best practices have come joined:
- McStain Neighborhoods (a Denver-Boulder developer and homebuilder that has been in business for more than 45 years) will offer DOW POWERHOUSE as an upgrade option at their Indian Peaks South neighborhood in Lafayette, CO.
- The Brookfield Homes homebuilding division of Brookfield Residential will offer DOW POWERHOUSE as a standard feature at Midtown, a new community near downtown Denver.
- Cobblestone Homes will feature DOW POWERHOUSE on their new models in the Mid-Michigan region.
The integrated design of POWERHOUSE has received endorsement by home owner associations and was recently approved for use on historic structures in Sag Harbor, New York.
As additional quantities of product become available from the firm's new production facility in Midland, additional market roll outs across the USA will continue.
