- Sustainability Problem
- For some, solar panels are a status symbol; that’s why so many people put them on their homes instead of fixing air leaks or changing light bulbs. Others prefer quiet money, believing the old dictum that “if you’ve got it, don’t flaunt it.” For example, real slate roofs are about the most expensive you can buy, but they last almost forever and they are really beautiful. The last thing you are going to want to do is cover them up with photoelectric or solar thermal panels.
- How can we take advantage of solar thermal and maintain esthetic looks?
- Summary of Thermoslate System
- Being dark, a slate roof absorbs a lot of heat; being stone, it has good thermal mass and holds it for a while.
- In the Thermoslate system, slate roof tiles are integrated with thermal cells that are ganged into solar thermal “batteries”.
- These then supply hot water that can be used for domestic purposes or the inevitable swimming pool. It also might keep the interior of the space a bit cooler, taking heat away from the roof and moving it to the pool.
- Can provide up to two-thirds of a home’s hot water needs annually. Other homes with Thermoslate rooftops are reducing energy consumption by as much as 85 percent annually.
- Stakeholders:
- Historical Sites
- General Contractors
- Plumbing Contractors
- Homeowners
- Deployment
- Atome Architectes renovated a French farmhouse
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