A NEW INNOVATION APPEARING ON A FEW HOUSES that could possibly be found anywhere is a solar energy panel that is designed to look like roofing shingles. 

The rectangular photovoltaic panels can be installed on any roof and are designed to blend in with the existing shingles.  One brand on the market is the UniSolar product pictured above and just below. 

UniSolar’s panels haven’t been received too well because of some cost/efficiency concerns, but Dow Chemical has recently announced their version of this type of product, called Powerhouse Solar Shingle, that claims to be much more efficient and will be widely available in just over a year from now.

Dow says that this new panel is designed to be able to be installed by any licensed roofer and can be put in at the same time a roof is being replaced.  No specialized skills or knowledge of solar array installation is necessary.  You can read Dow’s press release on this product issued last week HERE.

Firefighters might need to be concerned with a) recognizing their existence at first glance, b) footing and traction problems, and c) any hazards involved when cutting through a roof.  It is claimed that they are not damaged by walking on them, but safety concerns of firefighters are different than those of roofers, especially in inclement weather.  So far, there hasn’t been any information released on any electrical hazard that might be present when they are chopped through with an axe, for example.

If any Firegeezer readers have had any experience with these already, or more information on their potential danger to FF’s, please let us know in the Comments section.

Hat tip:  Eric F.

YOU CAN SURE TELL THAT FIREGEEZER IS A “CITY BOY.”  When I posted the STORY HERE on Tuesday about the move to encourage home construction using straw bales, little did I know that it’s already a big deal.  Several emails and comments later, we are now aware that the straw bale construction methods are advanced and widespread.  (News to me!)  And they’re showing up in urban areas, too.  I think it’s time to start watching for these.

Our friend Christopher Naum has already done some research on this construction method and sent along a few interesting links relative to it.  One is a .pdf document reporting on a 1-hr. fire resistance test of a non-loadbearing straw bale wall HERE that was done three years ago.  That test along with a 2-hr. test (described HERE) of a non-loadbearing straw bale wall coated with 1″ of cement stucco are shown in a 10-minute VIDEO HERE.  These were produced by the Ecological Building Network.

An even-more of an eye-opener is the existance of a California Straw Bale Building Code.  It is currently being revised in a bill that is in the Senate.

If you enjoy learning by watching videos, then go to YouTube and enter straw bale house in their search box and you will be presented with more than 330 videos about the practice.

Firegeezer, always the cynic, wonders how this goes over with the NIMBY’s when the trailer load of straw bales pulls up to the construction site.

This fellow here is pretty darn convincing:

MOVE OVER, WOOD-CHIPS-AND GLUE HOUSES.  Now the Eco-Activists are promoting houses built out of hay bales as the “green” alternative of the future.  Not only are they better insulated, but the fire department can get by with just 2 firefighters on duty to mop  up after everything has burned down.

This couple in Albuquerque shows us how it’s done:

Down in Texas a man built a 900-sq.ft. home out of straw covered with a lime-and-sand plaster.  This one looks pretty good. 

He tells the New York Times how and why he did it HERE.

Over in Merrie Olde England, the University of Bath is constructing a model “carbon zero” home out of straw and hemp.  The two story BaleHaus is to be built on the University of Bath campus and will be made using prefabricated panels consisting of a wooden structural frame infilled with straw bales or hemp and rendered with a breathable lime-based system. The home will be closely monitored for a year after being built for its insulating properties, humidity levels, air tightness and sound insulation qualities.

You can read about that one HERE.

It has not been reported whether any of these have passed the Huff ‘n’ Puff test.

Update:  Read our follow-up report on Straw Bale Housing posted two days later HERE.

WORK IS CONTINUING AT THE COLLAPSED PARKING GARAGE in Atlanta, Georgia, today as most of the cars are being made available for removal and structural engineers try to determine why the floor failed on the 4th-level on June 29.  (See Firegeezer reports HERE and HERE.)

AJC / Spink photo

Slowing the inspections were the questionable structural safety of the damaged area and the prevalence of gasoline vapors and oil pools from the smashed cars.  The FD brought in a large number of ventilation fans and continued to blanket the hazard area with foam.  The large amount of foam used led to an unexpected surprise for some people several miles away when the runoff was carried through the storm drains and resurfaced at some street grates sending some small rivulets of foam along the roadways.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on the initial findings of the cause:

David Tyndall, head of Gateway Development, which owns the decks, told WSB-TV Wednesday the floors collapsed because a “spandrel” beam — an exterior beam that extends from column to column and marks the floor level between stories — “popped out.”

What Tyndall couldn’t explain is, what forced the spandrel beam out.

That discovery will be critical, structural engineering experts said. Parking lots, like most structures, are “over-designed” to handle weight that is much more than designated, to allow for increased stress and to allow for small mistakes during construction.

WAGA-TV has a video update on the work progress: