SEP 03

The roof is typically the best and biggest part of most homes for energy collection. But most of the available systems for gathering this energy are unsightly. That's not a concern for these roof tiles from a Swedish company, SolTech Energy, that are made from glass.

With a roof made from these tiles, it is possible to produce 300-500 kWh per square meter per year (28-46 kWh per square foot per year). Heated air collects under the glass tiles like a greenhouse, and is then drawn in and concentrated to transfer the heat to a hot fluid for use in heating the building. The system is ideal for use with a heat pump or a boiler where a hot water storage tank stores the collected heat. Then, when heat is needed, the heat pump or boiler has pre-heated water available, so that less external energy is needed to heat the space.

In addition to the energy benefits, glass tiles are expected to have a longer lifespan than traditional clay or concrete roof tiles. And because the glass is a smooth material, snow tends to slide off more readily, so that the system keeps itself cleared and in operating condition more of the time. The tiles also match common tile shape so that the glass roof system can be incorporated into a conventional tile roof.

via: Sweets News and Products

Comments (10)

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written by Roger S, September 03, 2011

A boiling layer of superheated air would require really good insulation like aerogel to keep it out of the house, or else energy gains will show up as losses elsewhere. This is less of a problem in cold countries, which have a perpetual dearth of heat. Would that make it a region-specific implementation?

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doesn't add up, Low-rated comment [Show]

avoid confusion with units
written by Guest, September 05, 2011

Dear Neil, Be careful not to confuse units of measurement. Power can be described in MW (mega-Watts). It is the continuous flow of energy. The energy unit in the tile article is MWh (mega-watt-hour). 1 mWh is the supply of 1 million watts for a full hour...The large value of MWh quoted in the tile article is the amount of energy collected over the whole year...that's not a lot of watts per square meter...

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@Guest: Avoid confusion about units
written by Garton, September 06, 2011

You are quite wrong. A mWh is a milliwatt hour, i.e 1 thousandth of a watt for an hour.

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re: ...
written by Bill, September 06, 2011

"Heated air collects like a greenhouse"

As Roger stated, heating up the living space isn't a good idea without added insulation. The cooling costs of the house would probably offset any gains from the hot water collected.

Using white (or similar light-colored shingles) would probably be just as efficient and quite a bit cheaper than the glass tiles plus added insulation.

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@Garton: Avoid confusion about units
written by Guest, September 06, 2011

You are quite right. I accidentally used a lower-case letter for one of the sentences! I should have written "1 MWh is the supply of 1 million watts for a full hour..."

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written by Paul @ Green Budget Living, September 08, 2011

Surely if you look at the rate the air in the heated layer would need to be circulated/changed at, there would be only minimal time for it to heat sufficiently to transfer significant heat to the liquid in the heat exchange mechanism?? The thicker the layer, the longer it will take to heat and therefore the slower the circulation you need. The thinner the layer, the faster it will heat up but the circualtion rate will be naturally higher.

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climate
written by Daniela, September 11, 2011

At least these are prettier than solar panels. It seems like the kind of thing that may work better in cold environments where drawing the heat off before it seeps inside is less critical.

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written by ron, November 09, 2011

I live in Canada and have an old heat pump, they do not work very well do to the colder climate. Unless the company has improved the performance I think that this will be a climate specific solution.

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written by Green Tiles, July 07, 2012

Great information! These tiles are multitasking and great use for the human.Thanks for sharing about it.

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