It's a great idea. With economic incentives hopefully it will actually be affordable.

wow... these shingles look just like regular old shiny, photovoltaic shingles...

don't get me wrong... I'm excited about this. I do want it... Especially for my garage so I can have power without running wiring.

I think you'll still need wiring, how else will you get the electricity into the garage? You mean without wiring it to the house, right?

I wonder how they hold up to hail strikes....

wonder how they stand up to roofing nails?

But what happens when you walk on them and how efficeint are they under three inches of snow?

The top photos is not of the Dow product rather it is of UniSolar modules.

solar guy is correct! But he did not tell you that Unisolar shingles (SHR-17) lost their UL certification and were taken off the market. Also, the DOE NREL lab demonstrated that they degrade in likely violation of their warranty.

Hopefully Dow's tiles will have a different fate. And hopefully Dow will be able to offer them at reasonable prices (Unisolar couldn't).

With other companies achieving upto 40% efficiency and this offering 10% I know which i'd rather spend my money on.

Early adopters only. When they are ready for the energy market they will be an affordable alternative all on their own. For our boreal brethren, solar siding is a better choice, on the south, east and west walls. This tech is still in its infancy. I'm waiting for quantum valence cascade nanoscale junctions. Or maybe some other fancy buzzwords, or short-buzz words.

ecd fan .. is more interested in bashing unisolar than anything Dow does..
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/business/27novel.html

Thnx :)
http://vjob.net.ru

Solarguy - he is right - these are NOT Dow PowerHouse Solar Shingles. They are from Unisolar, which to this day makes a very expensive and rather poor alternative for a solar PV roof shingle. And I 2nd bashing Uni-Solar because their products have not progressed this facet of BIPV, have not revolutionized that industry sector, and they haven't R&D a new innovative BIPV product in years...or rather Uni-Solar has been all talk, with essentially just one product and technology in their portfolio.

To KR3: you don't know what you're talking about, and it speaks of ignorance. The ONLY near-40% efficiency Solar PV products are CSPV, concentrating solar PV, including ones based on the Stirling engine. Frankly, YOU CAN'T AFFORD ANY CSPV or Stirling Engine Solar PV product in existence or still in research! And if you could, the vendor would want you to buy at least the smallest model, a 22KW Stirling-engine based CSPV, which NO subdivision, city, or neighborhood will want to see in YOUR backyard since it stand nearly 20-25 ft tall, looks like a huge satellite dish, and needs a ton of concrete deep in the ground to mount it. You also show your supreme ignorance in that solar PV based on CIGS can achieve up to 24% efficiency (SunPower Corp, First Solar) but then again, these high efficiency CIGS solar panels are (1) not a roofing product, and (2) only available for commercial and utility-scale projects. You are stuck with BIPV CIGS products from manufacturers that charge much more than Dow's product promises. Or you are stuck with typical polycrystalline-silicon panels (2nd-3rd generation products that still only get 11-18% efficicency) that must be installed by a NABCEP-certified PV installer (if you want the state or utility incentive too). Or you have the choice of amorphous silicon panels that only achieve 8-12% efficiency and aren't much cheaper either, plus have other drawbacks. Show some intelligence before making such an ignorant arrogant comment.

As for Dow's product, I work for Dow, but I have my own doubts. The secodn picture above seems to depict a CIGS-based material but the metal tracers also seem to indicate a polycrystalline silicon medium, so what gives. Also, the metal tracers, for conducting the eletricity produced, seem to confirm what "vwmike" is implying - there are still going to be wires running all over the roof, or underlayment? Or under battens? If so, there is no wiring (the insulation actually) that can withstand 20 years lifespane under the roof shingles. Hail - well, Dow is going to shoot for Class IV hail impact resistance, just like any other solar product - it woudl be stupid of them. Windstorm resistance, that is, resistance to uplift in 70mph (typical for most residential), 100mph (Class 2,3 Hurricane zones), and 140mph (Miami-Daade's most stringent) - well, Dow is developing these in Michigan on an actually R&D "house". Does that give you any idea how these will fair initially, for home & hazard insurance reasons as well?

Walk on them...well, if any roofer can install it, as Dow says, then its really hard to say if CIGS can be abrasion resistant WITHOUT some very durable optically transparent hardcoat over it. Nearly all CIGS solar panels now use tempered glass, which only an idiot would use on a roofing BIPV product.

why are these idiots bashing unisolar? maybe they were sacked for being idiots

unisolars products are great , offering excellent energy returns in the real world, they are made of stainless steel , so robust and because they are flat wind is not an issue neither are roofing penetrations ( the bane of all roofers). they are very cost effective for BIPV roofing applications

they are being installed all over the world on sportsstadiums, houses, governement buildings etc etc etc

ecdfan and wingman are jackassess dont listen to them