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Hey guys I just bought a set of solar power shingles. They're made by ecotech shingles, anybody have any experience with these? They seem reletivly easy to put up
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Hi Skip - Welcome to Solar Panel Talk!
No one here has used those shingles yet I believe.
Russ[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] -
Hi Skip - You are making the rounds of the solar sites asking about the shingles after you bought them?
Russ[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Comment
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Nah sorry, I joined 3 sites just trying to get a range of answers quicklyComment
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Who supplies the shingles?
Is this a Uni Solar product?
Russ[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Comment
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Is there a specification for these beyond the minimum on their web site? http://www.ecotechshingles.com/Shingles.html
There is no real information there - what convinced you to buy these things.
Right now I think you got - burned
Usually when a company does not make more information available there is a good reason - they don't want you to know.
Russ[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Comment
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So far a number of companies have tried to get into solar shingles and I have not read of positive results from any.
UniSolar had photos of their tiles on a roof a couple of years back and I believe it was shown to be a photo shop job later. They have a reputation that is not good - you can find many items about them with a search.
Maybe DOW will bring an acceptable product to the market. At least they are big enough to worry about their name.
Russ[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Comment
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The problem with the shingles is two fold. They are printed circuits on a flexible plastic substrate with very low efficiency so it takes a lot of area and shingle with lots of wires.
The UV from Sunlight deteriorates the printed circuits on the shingles cause them to fail in a season or two.
So due to the mass numbers of the shingles in a given system makes them a nightmare to to troubleshoot.
The manufactures went broke from warranty claims.
Like I said they are nothing new as they have been around for 30 years.MSEE, PEComment
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I installed these yesturday and they work great! They are not thin film, they went up in half an hour. Just thought I would put my input.Comment
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Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
|| Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
|| VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A
solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-ListerComment
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theres a wire at the bottom of each shingle, and it plugs into the bottom of the shingle next to itComment
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Wait until the panels fail and try to figure out which one or ones they are. Then you will understand why the manufactures went bankruptMSEE, PEComment
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Ok, I'm an optomist so I think they'll lastComment
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Easy to be an optimist when you have no idea what you are being optimistic about isn't it?
For everyone else reading - the shingles have yet to be proven over time by anyone.
Companies that have manufactured them fall into two groups (as best as I can see)
1) honest but misguided types that have had great financial problems due to this product
2) Dishonest companies that use glowing testimonials to draw people in
A roof using these things is not cheap and almost certain to create problems - good choice?
Russ[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Comment
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Hey Russ I appreciate your input, I really do. But seeing how I can't install a giant wind turbine or set up an array of solar panels due to township codes. This was the only alternative, and being that Ecotech and Atlantis solar are the only manufactures of polycrystaline shines. It was a no brainer for me, I'm probably going to buy more and try to cover my roof. I feel pretty confident in theseComment
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