For as much as solar power has worked its way into the mainstream, it’s still a fairly big investment of time and money that requires a clunky solar panel system to be installed on a homeowner’s roof.
SRS Energy of Philadelphia is making it easier in more ways than one to go solar. It recently partnered with California-based U.S. Tile, the country’s largest clay manufacturer, to offer the first seamless solar roofing upgrade in the U.S.: Sole Power Tile. The curved tiles are integrated with U.S. Tile’s premium clay roofing system and maintain the depth and aesthetics of a sophisticated roofline.
SRS Energy’s goal is to make going solar as easy as upgrading anything else in a home and the company’s timing is perfect: the cost of electricity has never been higher, and neither have incentives for solar home modifications.
“Instead of putting tile down and solar on top of it, you can save materials and labor and put solar tile on,” says SRS CEO Marty Low.
The benefits, Low says, are the tiles are easier to install, they’re more aesthetically pleasing and there’s no roof penetration. Plus, because the tiles are curved, they perform better than typical solar panels.
U.S. Tile is the second major partnership for SRS Energy in the last two years. Valley Forge-based CertainTeed, a $5 billion building products company, invested in SRS in February 2008 and owns a 20 percent stake in the company. SRS is planning on opening a manufacturing plant in the Greater Philadelphia region in 2010 that will employ hundreds and ship its products internationally.
Source: Marty Low, SRS Energy
Writer: Joe Petrucci
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