Helene Hardy Pierce, Vice President of Building Science & Systems, Regulations & Industry Support, GAF
The solar power industry has traditionally been separate from the world of roofing. But recently, they’ve converged. This fusion makes sense: the best time to install a rooftop solar energy system is when you are getting a new roof and roofing contractors are the experts when it comes to any type of roof installation. Why not bring roofing experts into the solar industry and solar experts into the roofing industry? That’s just what GAF Energy has done.
Using GAF’s understanding of the steep slope roofing market and their appreciation for the relationship that roofing contractors have with homeowners, GAF Energy has introduced Timberline Solar, the only system to directly integrate solar technology into traditional roofing processes and materials. It is really just a roof that also generates power.
The concept behind Timberline Solar is simple. Residential roofing contractors know roofing. They know how to install shingles and they understand what works and what doesn’t. They also know their customers and how important a properly installed roof is to protect their homes. When you combine this expertise with an innovation like the Timberline Solar Energy Shingle (ES) – which installs just like a traditional asphalt shingle – along with a solar team that can partner with roofing contractors, it’s easy to understand GAF Energy’s belief that 1 in 100 roofs will be a solar roof by 2025.
To fully grasp this moment, it’s important to understand the markets in which rooftop solar operates, as well as the hurdles roofing contractors have historically faced when engaging with solar. By inventing Timberline Solar, GAF Energy may have cracked the code. Here’s why you should be paying attention.
The electricity generating industry is a $2 trillion market and solar is expected to grow to provide 50 percent of our electric supply in the next 30 years. When you consider the residential solar portion of this market, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) reports that residential solar had its largest quarter in history in the first three months of 2022 with 1.2 GWdc installed, which represents a 30 percent increase over the prior year.
The rooftop solar market is quickly growing. Given this backdrop, a solar roof that directly competes with standard roofing options has the potential to rapidly and powerfully accelerate consumer solar adoption. Timberline Solar ushers in a new era of residential solar, where homeowners can choose, first and foremost, a roofing product that also generates electricity for the home.
If a “conundrum” is a problem that is difficult to deal with, some would say that the residential roofing contractor who wants to enter into the solar roofing market has been facing such a problem. Rack-mounted systems have been the staple in this space and have their own challenges, not the least of which is 60-100 penetrations that are mounted into the deck and, typically, through the steep slope roofing material. This type of solar system also can have high “soft costs,” requires a skilled repair crew to install and can create its own habitat for critter infestation. Beyond the physical solar cells and rack-mounted system, there are requirements that simply fall outside the scope of many roofing contractors’ capacity, such as local permit requirements on solar design, electrical installation including into the main electrical panel and utility interconnection.
Starting in 2019, GAF Energy set out to address these challenges with a simple vision: create a solar shingle that integrates solar technology into the actual roofing system so that, in the future, we have the ability to generate energy from every roof. Core to this vision is affordability, installability and durability, blended with innovation and curb appeal. The result of this vision is the Timberline Solar Energy Shingle, the world’s first nailable solar shingle, which is designed and assembled in San Jose, Calif.
Timberline Solar is an entire roof system made up of the Timberline Solar ES, installed alongside a specific asphalt shingle that has been designed with the same exposure size as the solar shingle. This compatibility allows the solar shingles to be seamlessly integrated in the same courses as the traditional asphalt shingles. Both the solar shingles and the traditional asphalt shingles are installed directly over underlayment and significantly reduce the time (soft cost) for the solar
installation. An example of this savings is a recent installation in New Jersey. The entire process was completed in two days, including the tear-off of the existing roof, the installation of the entire roofing system (solar plus asphalt shingles) and the electrical inspection. The solar portion of this project was 6kW and took a total of 3 hours to install.
Roofing contractors who have seen this shingle up close have been very impressed with several features of the Timberline Solar ES. First, its weight: at eleven pounds per shingle and four shingles per bundle, it’s easy to handle and easy to work with. Second, the clear nailing zone and the easy access for connecting the embedded electronics together simplifies training and installation. Third, the surface of the shingle is not like a traditional solar panel or other steep slope types of solar roofing available; it has a durable, textured surface that makes it much easier to walk across without damaging the shingle. Fourth, the shingle installs directly over the deck/underlayment, placing all of the electrical components on the surface of the shingle, which provides easy access in the event that they need to be serviced.
While other integrated solar products have faced installation delays and pauses, GAF Energy is moving full steam ahead with Timberline Solar. Their production line runs 24/7 and Timberline Solar is already on rooftops across America – successfully producing energy and protecting homes.
This new nailable solar shingle was introduced in early 2022 and has already received multiple awards and recognitions, including the Consumer Electronics Show “Best of Innovation” award in the Smart Cities category in January, a “Best of IBS” award from the National Association of Home Builders at the International Builders’ Show, and Fast Company’s “World Changing Ideas” award. Others are seeing that this solar roofing system installs easily and quickly, comes with a full system warranty that includes the solar shingle, electronic components and power output in addition to full warranty coverage for the asphalt shingle and the total installation, reduces labor costs, and is creating a market for roofing contractors that many have been hesitant to engage with.
A significant feature of the Timberline Solar roof system is that the roofing contractor teams up with GAF Energy. The GAF Energy services offerings include the solar design and local permit packet; the electrical installation, including into the main service panel; the utility interconnection and being present for the electrical inspection to ensure that everything is installed properly.
The best time to install a solar energy system for existing homes is when the roof needs to be replaced. If roofing contractors can offer homeowners an affordable solar system when discussing their roofing needs, many homeowners will choose to install power generation as a part of their re-roofing investment. By coming together, solar and roofing can do powerful things.
Helene Hardy Pierce, Vice President of Technical
Services, Codes, and Industry Relations with GAF in
Parsippany, NJ. Timberline Solar Energy Shingle is a
registered trademark of GAF Energy.
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