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| Sunslates® : A Beautiful
Way to Generate Electricity |
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Sunslates® are an advanced
photovoltaic product. Sunslates® allow the roof of your home
to serve as both a roof and a power plant simultaneously.
A typical installation of 216 Sunslates® (about 300 square
feet / 28 square meters) will cover from 60 to 80% of your
power needs.
Alternate Energy Inc, as a stocking
distributor of Sunslates, is qualified to install and service
Sunslate brand Photoelectric products.
Frequently Asked Questions About SunSlates:
Q. Do I need to cover my entire roof with
SUNSLATES?
A. It is not necessary to cover your entire roof with SUNSLATES.
For a "standard" system of 216 SUNSLATES you will use about
300 square feet of space on your roof. The number of SUNSLATES
that you will want to use depends on several factors that
you can discuss with one of our employees.
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Q. Does my roof need to be oriented in a certain direction?
A. As you may know, the best orientation for a SUNSLATES roof is
due south. However a southwest or southeast roof will have a negligible
reduction in power production (2-4%) and a due east or due west
roof will see from 10 to 15% less power compared with a due south
roof. Roof pitch is also a factor in power production, but
it is not crucial. The difference in production between an ideally
sloped roof and a regular 4/12 or 5/12 roof is usually no more than
5%.
Q. How does the system shed water?
A. The Sunslates use an overlapping system, much like a shake roof
where there are two layers at any point on the roof. This is the
way the system sheds water. Sunslates need at least a 4/12 (18 degree)
roof pitch in order to shed water properly. Sunslates are based
on a Swiss company known as Eternit. They produce the fiber cement
slate that Sunslates are based on. The Swiss Eternit system is well
known in Europe and has been used for around 60 years with great
success. In Europe, this type of roofing is popular.
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