Want your solar panels blend in more with your rooftop – or make them stand out even more with your own design? This product may interest you.
Sistine Solar, a company spun out from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is now installing a product called SolarSkin.
It’s a material that can be printed with any image and layered onto a solar panel. It can be used to blend in with the roofing materials, or display something completely different; including business logos or even human faces.
SolarSkin systems reportedly cost about 10 percent more than conventional panel installations (standard range of patterns) and apparently the skin does not impact on efficiency. This is due to its selective light filtration attributes that enable it to display an image while still allowing light to pass through to the solar cells beneath. As for the details of the technology; well, that’s the secret sauce and Sistine aren’t saying.
A 5 year warranty is offered for the SolarSkin, which can be integrated with any solar module. Given the serviceable life of solar panels is decades, hopefully it lasts a lot longer than that.
The company sees a bright future for the product.
“We think SolarSkin is going to catch on like wildfire,” said co-founder Senthil Balasubramanian “There is a tremendous desire by homeowners to cut utility bills, and solar is finding reception with them — and homeowners care a lot about aesthetics.”
While Sistine has been around for a few years, the first residential installation didn’t occur until late last year. The company claims it now has 200 homes seeking installations.
“By showcasing solar energy’s innate beauty, we aim to captivate the world’s imagination and to usher in a clean energy future,” says Sistine Solar.
We can see many applications for business using this technology. As for residential installations, the endless design possibilities could perhaps cause some friction between neighbours. After all, one person’s Picasso is another person’s weird looking picture that they wouldn’t hang on their wall (or put on their rooftop for that matter).
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