Romag’s ‘Intecto’ building-integrated PV roof tile has won Solar UK’s BIPV Innovation of the Year award at the Solar Awards 2015.
County Durham-based Romag’s new integrated PV roof tile is a ground-breaking new concept in building integrated PV, combining renewable energy generation with a conventional colour matched tile design, enabling the PV cell to blend seamlessly into conventional roofscapes.
The first installation of the Intecto integrated PV tile in the UK was completed by Gentoo Homes in its new housing development at Beechbrooke in South Shields, where specific sections of the roof area incorporate Intecto PV tiles. The system can also be used to provide a whole-roof PV solution.
The Intecto PV tiles have been specially designed and manufactured to match the conventional terracotta roof tiles used at Beechbrooke, ensuring that property aesthetics, design and visual appearance are not compromised.
The new PV tiles are fitted simply and securely onto wood roofing battens using traditional roofing practices, with a guaranteed fixing system enabling the frameless Intecto units to sit flush with conventional interlocking tiles.
It was acknowledged by the judges that whilst people are adding photovoltaic panels to new or existing homes, not every property is able to be fitted with solar PV, often due to aesthetic considerations or restrictive codes in historic areas that limit material choices. The judges added that Intecto provided high efficiency cells that are colour matched to blend seamlessly with conventional roofscapes, demonstrated at the Beechbrooke development.
Intecto tiles incorporate the same high quality PV cells used in Romag’s existing range of PV products, enabling the new system to provide the same weatherproofing and protection measures provided by traditional tiles, but with the added benefit of renewable energy generation.
Barry Walker, Managing Director of Gentoo Homes, said: “Our customers frequently ask whether solar PV can be incorporated into our housing designs as they recognise the value of renewable energy and the financial benefits the technology can deliver.
“We are therefore delighted to be the first to install Romag’s innovative Intecto system in the UK. It clearly demonstrates that the aesthetics of solar are improving and I’m confident that our customers will be amazed by this new system.”
Richard Beevers, non-executive chairman at Romag, accepted the award and added: “We are delighted to have won this award and that our Intecto product has been recognised for innovation.
“We have developed Intecto to enable architects, housebuilders and roofing contractors to provide an effective rooftop PV solution with a conventional appearance without any compromise in solar power production and our work with housebuilders and developers has highlighted this.”
Intecto is fully IEC and MCS certified and complies with other international and European building industry regulations and roofing performance standards, and is due to being available in black, grey and terracotta colours means it is appropriate for use in heritage and green-belt areas, where the rooftop solar PV systems are required to maintain the integrity of individual buildings and their local environment.
Romag is a leading UK bespoke glass and solar manufacturing company has been a pioneer in the development of building integrated photovoltaic solutions. The company’s broad range of BIPV products includes skylights, facades, windows, curtain walling, brise soleil, parking canopies, covered walkways and roof lights.