UK firm touts "solar slates"

UK solar company PV Systems has this week launched a new solar roofing tile, which it claims resembles traditional slate tiles so closely that it not only requires no specialist installation skills but has received approval for use on a Grade 1 listed building.

The Heritage Solar Slate features a poly crystalline photovoltaic solar cell that can deliver up to 8W of power per tile and 1kW per seven metres squared at peak loads. The cell is then covered by etched glass that gives it the appearance of a traditional slate roof tile.

The company said that the tiles' appearance not only made them more attractive to customers than conventional solar panels, but allowed it to comply with the strictest planning regulations. It added that the tiles had been successfully granted approval for use on a Grade 1 listed building in Wiltshire.

Speaking to BusinessGreen.com, PV Systems product manager Terry Sweeney, said that the company already had four further projects in the pipeline and predicted strong demand for the tile from businesses and retailers, heritage sites and residential customers.

"This is definitely the way the solar market is going," he said. "We also do a double glazing product that can generate energy and both customers and planning offices tend to look kindly on these types of integrated technologies. "

He said that the company was also in talks with building suppliers interested in reselling the technology, adding that the tile has been designed so it can be installed by roofers and electricians without the need for any specialist training.

Sweeney refused to be drawn on the precise pricing of the tiles, revealing only that prices vary on a case-by-case basis. But he insisted that the technology offered a competitive return on investment over the tiles' minimum 30 year lifetime and added that the company guaranteed to replace the tiles for free if they drop below 80 per cent efficiency within 20 years.

The launch of the new tile comes just a week after analyst firm NanoMarkets released a report claiming that the global market for building-integrated solar technologies was poised to grow 15-fold over the next seven years to $8.2bn.