Solar cell roofing assembly

Abstract

A solar cell roofing assembly (10) consists of a roofing membrane (12), a plurality of insulation blocks (14, 16, 18, 20, 22) disposed as a layer on top of the roofing membrane (12), and a plurality of photovoltaic modules (24, 26, 28, 30, 32) disposed as a layer on top of the insulation blocks. In a second embodiment, the photovoltaic modules (24, 26, 28, 30, 32) are bonded to the top surface of the insulation blocks (14, 16, 18, 20, 22) to form a shop-assembled, 2-layer integral solar roofing module. The photovoltaic modules serve the purpose of electric generator, and in addition, the multiple purposes of ballast, UV blocker, and weather protector for the insulation block and roofing membrane below. The insulation blocks (14, 16, 18, 20, 22) have interlocking side surfaces. The photovoltaic modules (24, 26, 28, 30, 32) are electrically connected edge to edge. Rainwater flows over the top of the photovoltaic modules and between the joints separating the insulation blocks, and thereby passes through to the surface of the roofing membrane (12) below. The insulation blocks (14, 16, 18, 20, 22) can be tapered, with one side edge extending higher than the opposite side edge, so that the photovoltaic modules (24, 26, 28, 30, 32) can be oriented toward a plane which is relatively normal to the incident solar radiation.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.