1. U.S. Department of Energy. (n.d.). Solar water heaters. Energy Saver. Retrieved October 11, 2017, from https://energy.gov/energysaver/solar-water-heaters.
This web page explained what are Solar water heating system and discussed the differences between active and passive systems. It also illustrated the key components of such system – the storage tank and solar collector. It provided suggestions for the installation and maintenance of solar water heating system. This article provided many useful links to other web pages discussing the choice of systems and the energy efficiency of them.
2. Madani, H., (2006). The performance of a cylindrical solar water heater. Renewable Energy 31(11), 1571-1763.
This article evaluated the thermal performance of a cylindrical solar water heater. It also calculated and measured the heater’s energy efficiency. Finally it used an economic analysis to compare the cost efficiency of the cylindrical solar water heater with a traditional flat plate collector solar water heater. The result had shown that cylindrical heater was close in thermal performance and energy efficiency, slightly cheaper in production, and much more flexible than its flat plate collector counterpart.
3. Slater, H., (2013). Solar hot water: which is better PV or thermal? Renewable Energy World. Retrieved October 11, 2017, from http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2013/09/solar-hot-water-which-is-better-pv-or-thermal.html.
This article provided a detailed review of the advantages and disadvantages of using solar electric (PV) assisted heat pump water heating (HPWH) as compared with solar thermal water heating.
4. Hope, Paul. “Doing the Math on Tesla’s Solar Roof (Again).” Consumer Reports, 4 Aug. 2017, www.consumerreports.org/solar-panels/doing-the-math-on-teslas-solar-roof/.
This Consumer Reports article details what kind of costs customers of Tesla’s solar tiles can expect. The article gives examples of different types of houses in different locations.
5. Richardson, Luke. “How Much Do Solar Panels Save You in 2017? | EnergySage.”EnergySage Solar News Feed, EnergySage, 20 Sept. 2017, news.energysage.com/much-solar-panels-save/.
This article details what solar panel customers can expect to see with electricity bills and savings. It gives the states with the biggest savings and touches on environmental benefits.
6. Lacey, Stephen. “Here’s How Much a Tesla Solar Roof Will Cost You (and How Long It Will Last).” Gtm, Greentech Media, 10 May 2017, www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/heres-how-much-a-tesla-solar-roof-will-cost-you.
This article talks about Tesla’s new solar roof and shows a graph comparing its cost to other types of roof materials. The graph, originally from Tesla, seems like it may be too good to be true and should be looked into further.
Resources related to solar roof tiles (Muyuan Li)
7. Kachadorian, J. (2006). The passive solar house. White River Junction, Vt: Chelsea Green.
The academic resource provides how people start to pay more attention on clean energy, like solar energy. In addition, the resource describes how to build solar energy collector and to utilize clean energy wisely. Also, parts of the resource talk about the cost to both house owners and environment. If we need to the comparison between products in future, the source can be a strong and professional support.
8. Tesla Inc. (2017). Tesla Solar Roof. Retrieved October 10, 2017
https://www.tesla.com/solarroof
It is a useful public report created by Tesla Incorporation. Details of solar roof, including cost; quality, potential and obvious benefits, are exhibited by the report. The source can be utilized by us to impress our audience with advantages of solar roof. Also, it will be one of model when we do the comparison between solar roofs produced by different companies.
9. Suntegra Inc. (n.d.). Long Island Solar Panel Installation – Find Solar Installers. Retrieved October 11, 2017,
The report related to solar panel installation is created by Suntegra company, which is a large company related to solar energy business. From the content, we can get detailed description of solar panel and its construction. Also, the solar roof production from Suntegra can be used to compare with similar products from Tesla in future.
10. Union of Concerned Scientists. Environmental Impacts of Solar Power. Retrieved October 20, 2017, from http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/renewable-energy/environmental-impacts-solar-power.html#.Weo5LFtSxaQ
This academic article focuses on the benefits of solar power in general to the environment, and society as a whole. Initially, the article discusses the advantages of solar power for Carbon Dioxide emissions and global warming. Then it argues the solar panels and roofs can limit the amount of land being used for the sole reason of power generation. In addition, it also discusses the health improvement from using solar power rather than traditional methods.
11. US Energy Information Administration. Electricity in the United States. Retrieved October 20, 2017, from https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=electricity_in_the_united_states
This website does not focus on the subject of solar electricity, however, it provides statistical information regarding electricity in the United States. The article indicates how fossil fuel and coal make up more than half of the electricity in the US. It also compares all the renewable energy generation methods in the US, like geothermal, solar and hydro-power.
12. SolarCity. (Uncover the Benefits of Solar Energy. Retrieved October 20, 2017, from http://www.solarcity.com/residential/benefits-of-solar-energy
This article discusses how solar roofs provided by SolarCity are an advantageous toward the environment. The statistics provided by the article focuses on Carbon Dioxide emission, and compares them to the emissions by fossil fuel, and coal burning. The article focuses mostly on the products provided by SolarCity, however, it still demonstrates how solar roofs will help reduce emissions regarding global warming.
13. “Advantages of Solar Energy | Pros and Cons of Solar Energy.” RGS Energy,
rgsenergy.com/home-solar/solar-vs-traditional-power/.
This site provided a comprehensive overview of the benefits of solar power, including cost benefits.
14. Hayes, CFA Adam. “How To Profit From Solar Energy.” Investopedia, 23 Apr. 2015, www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/042315/how-profit-solar-energy.asp.
This article provided information on the cost benefits of using solar energy, including tax cuts and net metering.
15. GreenMatch. (2017). All You Need to Know about the Solar Panels | GreenMatch. Retrieved October 25, 2017, from
https://www.greenmatch.co.uk/blog/2016/02/information-on-solar-panels#types
16. Greetechlead. (2015). TSEC, DuPont to showcase V-series solar panels at Tokyo expo. Retrieved October 25, 2017, from
http://www.greentechlead.com/solar/tsec-dupont-to-showcase-v-series-solar-panels-at-tokyo-expo-21927