Glass Tiles, and Other Alternatives for Your Tiled Roof
Glass roofing tiles are not a new idea, but using them in combination with solar heating elements in the roof line won Soltech Energy a gold medal at the Nordbygg 2010 trade fair in Stockholm.
The idea is a good one: Using solar energy that falls on every roof for free heating. A lot of modern builders are expanding their repertoires to take into the account the current trend in adding green energy production and conservation into modern housing. You may notice that Im a big fan of this trend, but dont get me wrong: its the challenge of increasing efficiency that interests me most.
Soltech Energys integrated systems incorporate air passages in the roof that add pre-heated air to the buildings forced air heating system. This pre-heated air can also be used in conjunction with a ground-sourced heat pump or adsorption cooling to lessen cooling loads in summer.
Gizmag has a few interesting articles about advanced roof tile concepts, including one about MITs Thermeleon temperature sensitive, colour-changing tiles, and the SRS Solar Roof Tile, incorporating photovoltaic cells.
