Solar shingle system comes online from DOW Powerhouse in North Carolina

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/06/16/1307428/-Solar-shingle-system-comes-online-from-DOW-Powerhouse-in-North-Carolina

Dawn Kurry of Biz Journals writes Solar shingles system comes online in Cary North Carolina. Don Hyatt is the first person in the research triangle, and maybe in the whole state, to install the new DOW solar shingles on his home.

Don Hyatt says people have been stopping by his house to admire the shiny new roof.
"I've been waiting for them to become available in North Carolina," Hyatt says. "It's not like solar panels, which have the big blue rectangles that stick up above everything else and are obtrusive looking. These blend in nicely."

Sun Dollar Energy of Raleigh, owned by Dan Lezama, installed shingles on the roof of a home which double as solar panels. ... “It’s a building integrated PV (photo-voltaic) module,” explains Lezama. “Solar panel and listed roofing material in one. It’s perfect for a new home or a home that needs a new roof and the HOA won’t allow for traditional solar panels.”

Lezama says the installation wasn’t easy, and the cost of materials was “double or more” than what he pays for solar panels. He says he hand-nailed all 306 solar shingles onto the roof himself. He’s already got another solar shingles customer in Chapel Hill, and others in Cary have expressed their interest, he says. The Cary homeowner needed to replace his roof, and decided after researching the product to up the ante. The total cost of the system is $15,000.