It's safe to say that Australians are finally on board the energy consumption reduction bandwagon. The Australian Bureau of Statistics Use of renewable energy in Australian homes 2006-07, suggests that Australians have been endeavouring to become more energy efficient in their homes.

In a recent report, it was suggested that Australians are leading the way in fitting solar panels to their homes, with nearly 4 million Australians living in a house or work in a business with solar panels on its roof. Thanks to state feed-in tariffs such as the NSW Solar Bonus Scheme, it created a late rush to have these solar panels installed, including an additional 785 megawatts of small-scale solar panels installed last year.

There has been new development where 'new' electricity is concerned. Photovoltaic systems (PV) use solar panels to capture and convert sunlight into electricity using photovoltaic cells. Also referred to as 'PV modules', the PV systems are made up of one or more solar panels.

According to Climate Spectator, solar PV panels in Australia have increased to 1.4 gigawatts, which is predicted to increase to over 2 gigawatts by the end of 2012. This is said to produce as much as 8% of the average daytime electricity demand.

Monier Wunderlich recently introduced its SOLARtile roof tiles which incorporates the latest PV technology to convert sunlight into electricty.

The innovative, integrated design works in a similar capacity as conventional ‘bolt on’ photovoltaic panels. It was developed specifically to integrate seamlessly with Monier’s range of flat profiled concrete tiles.

According to Monier, one SOLARtile replaced 2½ concrete roof tiles. It is the first BIPV roofing product of its kind in Australia.

Where design and functionality meet
SOLARtile roof tiles integrate seamlessly with the look of existing or new rooflines. At this stage, it is designed to only fit Monier's range of flat profiled roof tiles. Some of the key benefits include:
  • high performance
  • bring clean, Green energy to any home
  • 25% lighter than roof tiles
  • IEC 61730, IEC 61215, CEC approved 10-PPV-00026/01-TC
  • 25 year performance guarantee
Monier's own licensed roofers and CEC accredited electricians will be required to install the SOLARtile panels, saving specifiers and builders valuable time.