Aug 1 2014
Dow Solar, a business of The Dow Chemical Company, announced today the first Illinois installation of DOW POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingles, an award-winning residential solar roofing system.
Bill Schafer and Margaret Watson, who have followed news about Solar Shingles since their invention in hopes of one day integrating them into their beautiful Naperville home, finally began creating clean solar energy when local Sustain-A-Building LLC became authorized to install Solar Shingles in the Chicago area.
Bill Schafer wanted to purchase a system for their home in time for his daughter’s wedding, as the family had planned an outdoor reception.
“We first read about Solar Shingles in 2009 when Time named them one of the best inventions of the year,” said Bill, who has adopted many other sustainable green practices prior to solar. “We’ve been asking Dow to bring them to Illinois ever since.”
The Solar Shingles served as an aesthetically pleasing and fascinating backdrop to an already beautiful wedding. The Schafers were not the first POWERHOUSE owners to host an outdoor wedding with their home’s Solar Shingles in view, which speaks to how many homeowners agree about the unobtrusive nature of their appearance.
Illinois joins 18 other states in which the revolutionary product is now available. Brandon Weiss, owner of Evolutionary Home Builders, established Sustain-A-Building LLC to promote green building practices and has won numerous awards for his dedication to sustainability, including recognition as the 2013 NAHB National Master Certified Green Professional of The Year. He is proud to now offer DOW POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingles to environmentally conscientious homeowners who value aesthetics and durability.
Illinois residents and professionals will have the opportunity to see the POWERHOUSE Solar Shingles for themselves at a block party hosted to celebrate the Schafer’s new system in Naperville on August 22nd. Homeowners and builders can attend from 2 – 6 pm at 1004 Thurman Ave.
Dow Solar and Dow Building Solutions will host the event, in association with Brandon Weiss, with representatives from each present to answer questions and explain how homeowners can begin saving money themselves with sustainable solutions like DOW POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingles.
“Across the country, POWERHOUSE has changed how people see their roof,” said Cheryl Whitten, associate commercial director for Dow Solar. “We’re excited to begin reinventing Illinois roofs to provide value for homeowners by generating electricity with the power of the sun.”
Backed by a 20-year performance warranty, the DOW POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingle is a dual-functioning system offering superior aesthetics over rack-mounted solar panels and is certified as both a roofing and solar product. It is a complete turnkey package that includes a custom designed system for each home, the inverter to convert DC to useable AC electricity, the utility interconnection so that credit is obtained for the electricity generated, and a web-based monitoring system that provides real-time system performance. Whether reroofing an existing home or custom building, DOW POWERHOUSE™ presents the smartest investment for homeowners, protecting their house while creating savings on their monthly energy bill.
About Sustain-A-Building
Sustain-A-Building LLC offers a wide variety of remodeling services for both commercial and residential building. The company's main focus is on roofing, siding, windows replacements, solar, and weatherization. All services have a focus of green and sustainable building techniques and materials. Sustain-A-Building builds to building science standards that far exceed minimal local building codes and helps control the envelope of each home. This leads to higher quality work, which the company in turn warranties for longer than its competition at prices competitive to traditional construction. Sustain-A-Building has evolved from windows and roofing and is now the only homebuilder in the state of Illinois that is certified to install DOW POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingles. For more information, visit http://www.sustain-a-building.com/.
About Dow
Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines the power of science and technology to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company is driving innovations that extract value from the intersection of chemical, physical and biological sciences to help address many of the world's most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, clean energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow's integrated, market-driven, industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 180 countries and in high growth sectors such as packaging, electronics, water, coatings and agriculture. In 2013, Dow had annual sales of more than $57 billion and employed approximately 53,000 people worldwide. The Company's more than 6,000 products are manufactured at 201 sites in 36 countries across the globe. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.
Source: http://www.dow.com/