Solar Power Shingles

Once upon a time, I heard I could make $100 in a single day roofing a house. It was summer in Oklahoma, in a neck of the woods where the thermometer likes to hang out over 100 for about 3 months in a row. I am somewhat familiar with shingles.

As you can kind of see on this picture, the top of the shingle is essentially grainy little rocks sprayed on to a thick tar-like paper.


Things Get Smaller
Once upon a time, computers took up entire rooms. They're now at least small enough to fit in the palm of a human hand. When I think of solar panels, I think of essentially black windows in a frame on a roof. They'll get smaller though. I have no reason to think we're not capable of making solar panels the size of a grain of sand. If nature can do it in a plant cell, we can do it in a lab.

We Have Paintable Electronics

It's called P3HT [poly(3-hexylthiophene)]. You can read about it here.

Solar Power Shingles

1. Spray P3HT on tar paper

2. Grab a handful of solar power sand and slap it on there before the P3HT dries

3. Put a battery on the edge of the house.

So, if you live in an area that experiences a brown-out or you just look at your air-conditioning bill this summer, start asking the same question I am: Where's the link to the Solar-Power Shingles kickstarter campaign?

UPDATE: Please see this ensuing conversation, which contains links to what's actually going on in the solar power shingle department these days.

image source: http://roofingcontractorsdallastx.info/roofing-contractors-dallas-tx/shingle-roofing-dallas-tx-2/