The Power of Incremental Gains

Prior to entering the corporate world, I was lucky enough to represent Canada at the international level as a cyclist. Anyone involved in cycling knows of Team Sky and their dedication to the philosophy of incremental gains to create a team that simply wins big bike races. Competing against Team Sky at the Commonwealth Games, I had a first hand look at how the concept of incremental gains can make a huge difference on the road cycling, and in other areas as well.

Essentially, the philosophy of incremental gains emphasizes taking a base line that exists and is quantifiable, and then making small improvements until you realize a breakthrough in results.

The Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) market is filled with big innovations. Both the Tesla Solar Roof tile and the RGS Powerhouse shingle have some very exciting developments. The building industry, though, is very slow to change and innovation can cause resistance to adapting new tech.

With the Ergosun Integrated Solar Roof Tile, we have used technology and methods that were created with the building industry in mind:

1. Simple connectors allow us to build arrays of solar roof tiles around roof fixtures like vents and chimneys. Competing products require continuous uninterrupted roof space that architects and builders typically don’t allow for.

2. Standard materials make the Ergosun Integrated Solar Roof Tile broadly available and economical. By solarizing a standard concrete roof tile, we enable builders to pick up this product and install it quickly and easily. We hear continuously from builders that installing such a simple solution was easy for them.

3. Solving small problems enables us to outperform traditional solar products. Light reflecting back from glass solar panels reduces power output. Just get rid of the glass!

No individual piece of technology developed for the Ergosun Integrated Solar Roof Tile attempted to swing for the fences in its advancement. What we did is achieve breakthrough performance through incremental gains.

-Paul Henderson, CEO, Ergosun

Disruption by Legislation

Residential solar energy is an interesting business. It is an industry very heavily influenced by legislation – both for and against – however, it continues to grow in spite of many hurdles.

Here are some examples of various impacts of legislation around the world:

1. Solar installs in the United Kingdom have plummeted in the last few years due to the reduction and subsequent elimination of feed-in tariffs (a policy mechanism originally put in place to accelerate investment in renewable energy technologies).

2. The recent introduction of anti-dumping tariffs on the world by the United States has pushed solar companies to load up on panel inventory and work to get the needed pricing in the marketplace. This has led to a sales burst ahead of the tariffs, followed by a slow down once they were in place.

3. In Canada, the largest province (Ontario) had their solar programs slashed following the recent election of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party.

4. Spain’s decision to scrap its “sun tax”, which had stunted residential solar adoption for years, will create new opportunities moving forward.

5. California passed legislation mandating the installation of solar products in new residential construction.

The above are examples of real-world moves legislated for impact. Several are meant to drive growth in residential solar energy, some are intended to allow governments to end unaffordable programs, and one strives to help domestic manufacturers compete with the rest of the world.  

Concurrent with the above legislative disruptions, many governments have implemented legislation to increase traditional power consumption. Natural gas looks to be a big winner in this push. It gives the appearance that the most prevalent legislative mindset is to encourage the status quo.

Despite all of this, distributed residential solar energy continues to thrive. In the US, deployments still look strong and several of the public companies in the industry have posted strong results. As well, in many countries, deployments are in fact growing. One of the greatest strengths of the industry is that there are so many small installers. These installers find nimble ways to grow no matter what is thrown at them. And in doing so, the disruption caused by legislation is further disrupted by the business people who simply refuse to lose.

For information on how to go solar, beautifully with solarized roof tiles, visit our Product page.

The Efficiency and Effectiveness of Solarized Building Materials in the Construction Industry

Going solar is rarely talked of in the same breath as building and construction. People build houses and then they add solar to their new house, sometimes even drilling holes in the roofing membrane of their new house in order to add panels.

A relatively new way to look solarizing a home is to in fact combine going solar and construction – use solarized building materials.The materials need to be installed in the same way as conventional materials, and integrate with other materials. Picture a solar roof where the non solarized materials, and the solarized materials mesh seamlessly, are installed at the same time, using the same techniques, and are installed by the same construction team.

This allows for a simple workflow when building a house. The same crews working with materials that fit together. Solarizing building materials is an enabler for the construction industry to add value to their customers.

A quick disclaimer here – no one is suggesting you throw caution to the wind. Solarized building materials generate electricity. They need to be checked and monitored by a licensed electrician.

Here we touch on an idea from a previous post, where we talk about creating panels to suit applications, rather than working around the panel. Solarize existing building materials and build with them. Or look to tailor the solar panel to fit seamlessly with existing materials and use the exact same install technique.

Looking at construction holistically through a fresh lens can lead to breakthroughs. When we find ways to integrate solar building materials into how houses are built, or how any building is built then we can find synergy and efficiency. Same work crews, a project plan that looks like a normal construction process. There are the synergies we are looking for. There is a huge difference between Building Integrated Photovoltaic and Building Material Integrated Photovoltaic.

Watch this video to see the application on a roof: