In this age of uncertain energy prices, the search for alternatives to the traditional standby of fossil-fuel based thermal power plants is becoming more and more attractive by the day.

You don't even have to be a believer in man-made global warming to appreciate the multiplicity of factors driving the shift in how people think about energy. Among the options available to homeowners are solar shingles, which combine the utility of solar panels with the aesthetics of traditional shingles. In this article we will discuss the pros and cons of this emerging technology.

Why is solar power important? Unlike the forms which have dominated energy production in America to this point, solar energy is clean, and renewable. The old way of generating electricity is due to end within a matter of decades in any event due to the finite supplies of coal, oil, and natural gas. While considered by engineers to be a technology in need of further improvement, there is no question that solar photovoltaic technology does work and the high prices of oil today are making photovoltaic technology more economically viable by the day.

What are solar shingles? Solar shingles are photovoltaic cells, semiconductor-based devices which convert sunshine directly into electrical current. Solar shingles look like traditional roof shingles. As such, the chief advantage of solar shingles over conventional solar roof panels is their ability to provide the benefits of solar panels without the unfavorable aesthetics that come with them (or other technologies like home based miniature wind turbines).

Many of the other pros and cons for solar shingles are similar to those of conventional solar panels. These include the economic payoff over time, the insurance against power outages (depending on how your particular system is set up), the considerable environmental benefits, and some insulation from rising energy prices.

Economically, solar roof panels can seem like a good deal or a bad deal from different perspectives, though in reality they are more like a long-term investment. While installing solar roof panels incurs a high initial cost, the panels eventually pay for themselves, and in fact become profitable after a certain point in time. If your solar panels or shingles are wired to the electrical grid directly, you can literally see your electric meter spinning backwards during off-peak hours as your house generates more energy than its using!

Generally, solar panels will save you money on your electric bills as long as they are operable, even if you don't receive a bill with a negative balance every month (though this has been known to happen). And once they're installed by a certified installer, many brands of solar shingles are guaranteed for 20 years. Take a moment and think about what your electricity bill might look like in even ten years.

As an aside on negative balances and meters running in reverse, electric utilities are legally required to pay you for energy you feed into the grid in many areas, despite how they may feel about doing so. In particular, investor owned public utilities are legally required to allow users to feed energy back into the grid for a credit, but energy cooperatives in rural areas are exempt from this law. Before you wire your home solar panels to the grid, it is wise to consult your local electric utility.

An alternative to grid-tie systems is a system which employs a large pack of batteries to store excess energy during periods in which production exceeds usage, and runs the home off battery power when production is less than consumption. An advantage of this type of system is the ability to retain power when your local utility is experiencing a power outage. The problem is that battery-backed systems are significantly more expensive than just grid-tied ones - by at least $10,000.

Your location can be an advantage or a disadvantage depending on local conditions. While it may be instructive to consider the success of solar energy in Germany, a European country at a rather high latitude which is not known for year-round sunny days (rather the opposite, in fact), the amount of sunlight you receive clearly makes a difference. This is partly the reason for the popularity of solar energy in California, though the energy crisis in that state is also a factor.

The disadvantages of either system involve the added machinery and more complex wiring of your home. Wiring the system requires the services of an electrician, whether it is connected to the grid or employs a battery pack, and you may incur unusual difficulty (compared to a standard home wiring) should anything go wrong with your setup. The extra machinery required may include an inverter to convert the DC output of the solar cells into AC current. As with all electrical systems, there is a danger associated with the hardware needed by either type of setup.

The decision to install solar shingles at your home is of course a personal one, informed by your own beliefs, finances, location, and many other factors. Nevertheless, it is a decision which must be carefully considered, just like any other major home renovation. And as energy prices rise, solar shingles start to make more and more sense.