SolarCity chairman Elon Musk said this week that a major goal of his company is to design “cool-looking, aesthetically pleasing” solar panels for homeowners.
Yet the appearance of solar panels President Obama recently put on the White House is virtually unchanged from those originally mounted on the commander-in-chief’s home four decades ago by President Carter.
What gives? During the early days of solar energy, the engineer-driven industry was preoccupied with simply trying to turn sunlight into electricity. They weren’t worried about the “cool factor” of solar panel design. Instead, they wanted to know: what panel shape is most efficient to gather sunlight? What solar panel design is easiest to maintain? What materials are the most durable?
Now, in 2014, with rooftop solar going mainstream, we have the luxury of thinking about the aesthetics of solar panel design—not just the functionality. And, as more and more people choose solar energy for their homes, it’s about time the solar industry made sure homeowners can positively incorporate solar into their home design rather than have it considered an eyesore by some.
The rectangular solar panel has remained largely unchanged throughout the years, but it has seen some subtle design shifts that make it less intrusive on a residential roof. Solar panel suppliers today provide solar panels that are monochromatic and thinner than their predecessors, blending in better with the roof when installed.
While the standard rectangular solar panel design has gotten sleeker, the world of building-integrated photovoltaics (referred to as BIPV by those of us in the industry) continues to design, build and test solar panel design concepts. Imagine a solar panel that looks like a roof shingle and is part of the roof, not riding on top of it. Now that’s cool.
The Seoul, Korea headquarters of our partner, Hanwha—one of the world’s largest solar panel manufacturers—is an example of one company beginning to put BPIV solar panel design concepts to work. They are updating their 29 story building with a BPIV solar façade that will include three hundred solar panels on the sunniest spots to harvest energy. In addition to being a showcase for innovative solar panel design, the retrofit may save well over a million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year.
Researchers and designers are also thinking of homeowners as they develop the next innovations in solar panel design, including experiments with solar shingles, solar canopies and solar slates. The world of solar panel design is even exploring how to preserve the look and character of historical homes and buildings with color solar shingles.
It’s an exciting time in solar energy, and we’re excited to see what continued innovations will be available to us soon. What would you like to see in solar panel design?
