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Old 11-12-15, 11:07 PM   #5
MN Renovator
Less usage=Cheaper bills
 
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The manufacturers that I used to be aware of that were producing solar shingles are no longer producing them anymore. I've also talked with solar installers about them and there is a large amount of roofing penetrations where the wiring passes into the attic an it also requires the solar contractor to crawl around in your attic to connect the different segments of your array. I've been told that it is labor intensive(expensive to install), more prone to leakage, and more expensive for the materials. This is why they were the big fad for awhile but there weren't that you've seen or heard of being installed.

I'd skip the wooden shingles or shakes. Ceramic tile or slate are crazy expensive. You can get a great roof using metal as others have mentioned. Asphalt roofing is still the most common, relatively inexpensive to install and generally reliable. Asphalt shingles don't have the longest life but it seems most people move to a different house within 20-30 years anyway. If you don't have hail in Los Angeles, you'd probably get 30 years out of a '40 year' shingle. In Minnesota, people get 15-20 years from 25 year 3-tab shingles but nearly every replacement is covered by insurance for hail damage so it's usually as $1000 deductible and you get a new roof here. I imagine the new 40 year architectural shingles probably will last 25-30 years here, barring a freakish hailstorm or two.
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