American roofing manufacturer GAF is dipping its toes into the solar market with their new line of Timberline Solar shingles. GAF Energy boasts Timberline Solar is the world’s first nailable solar shingle.
The Timberline Solar line was officially unveiled at this past January’s Consumer Electronics Show, garnering an Innovation Award honoree in the Smart Cities and Smart Home categories. The Solar line also took home the Best of Innovation Award for the Smart Cities category.
GAF’s Timberline Solar is going head-to-head with Tesla’s solar shingles which have been snagged with shipping and installation delays. Unlike Tesla’s solar shingles, Timberline Solar integrates directly into the home with traditional roofing processes. If a roofer can install asphalt shingles, they have the skills to install Timberline Solar.
According to GAF Energy, the system can be installed in days compared to weeks with one recent install only taking two days. The foray into new integrating panels comes after GAF turned away from traditional solar panels and invested over $1 billion to develop an easy to install solar array.
The company recently moved its solar manufacturing facilities out of South Korea and back stateside to GAF Energy’s west coast home of San Jose, California. The new facility is expected to employ 400 people of diverse skillsets and produce approximately 50 MW of solar panels annually. GAF Energy chose to relocate to San Jose to tap into the large Silicon Valley talent pool.
According to GAF Energy President Martin DeBono, the research and development team will be adjacent to the production line, making for quick adjustments and easy integration of new technologies as they develop.
More About Timberline Solar
The solar line is built tough to face a variety of different conditions across the country. They are water-resistant, impact-resistant, garner a Class A fire rating, and can be walked on. Unlike traditional solar racks, there aren’t dozens of holes drilled through the roofing system. Fewer holes mean fewer leaks.
Despite these tough properties the panels are less dense and the same thickness as a traditional dimensional asphalt system which means homeowners won’t need any engineering letters to install Timberline Solar.
The solar shingles have been rated as producing 6KW per 300-400 square ft installation which is approximately the same output as a traditional rack system. The panels are built to match GAF’s Timberline HDZ line of asphalt shingles for a cohesive appearance.
GAF Energy is launching the new solar shingles in conjunction with its sister company GAF Roofing. GAF Energy plans to use GAF roofing’s extensive network of certified contractors to roll out Timberline quickly throughout the country.
“Solar roofs are the future of clean energy, and Timberline Solar is the game-changing innovation that will get us there,” said DeBono.
The system has achieved UL 7103 certification which allows GAF to install the system as both a solar energy and roofing product on residential roofs – a first for any roofing product. Timberline Solar has been third-party tested for market-readiness by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Sandia National Laboratories.
If you’re interested in trying GAF’s Timberline Solar for yourself, fill out a simple form on GAF Energy’s Solar Timberline page. You’ll be contacted by a GAF agent to discuss what solar can do for your home.