Texas Builder To Offer Dow Powerhouse Solar Shingles For All New Construction

SAN ANTONIO -- Midland-based Dow Chemical Co. Tuesday announced a new collaboration with Imagine Homes, a San Antonio-based homebuilder, to offer Dow's Powerhouse solar shingle roof system to all new homebuyers in Imagine Homes' six San Antonio area residential communities.

Additionally, Dow Powerhouse will be a standard feature on all homes in the Willis Ranch community, scheduled to open in September.

Tuesday's announcement expands the channels for San Antonio homeowners to obtain the nation's first solar shingle roof product, making it easier to transform their roofs into a power source that offsets a significant percentage of home energy costs. Imagine Homes becomes the first homebuilder in Texas to offer Dow Powerhouse Solar Shingle roof systems as part of their product portfolio, increasing availability of the revolutionary roofing product to more San Antonio homeowners.

"The Dow Powerhouse team is tremendously proud and very enthusiastic to be working with one of the nation's leading green home builders to provide homeowners in the San Antonio metro area with complete energy-efficient building envelope options," said Dan Pezolt, Dow solar marketing director. "Our partnership with Imagine Homes will integrate our neighborhood-friendly solar shingles that actively generate electricity with new homes that have been designed from foundation to roof with energy-efficient design in mind."

Imagine Homes is a leader in green homebuilding technologies and best practices, with third-party certification through the Build San Antonio Green and Energy Star programs. Imagine Homes also exceeds the U.S. Department of Energy's Builders Challenge target for homes to be 30 percent more energy-efficient than the standard code for U.S. homes based on the Home Energy Rating System index.

"We applaud Imagine Homes for their industry leadership, and we are thrilled to continue our certification of their energy efficient, solar powered new homes here in San Antonio," said Anita Devora, executive director of Build San Antonio Green. "Imagine Homes' partnership with Dow Powerhouse to expand availability of the revolutionary solar roofing product in San Antonio directly supports our mission to increase the number of energy efficient houses throughout our region."

The Dow Powerhouse Solar Shingle roofing system will be offered to all Imagine Homes' customers as a feature for all future builds.  It includes:
* A custom designed array of shingles to fit the individual homeowner's budget and energy goals, and it is arranged to complement the style and form of the home and roofline.
* A solar inverter that converts direct current into alternating current and feeds the home's power needs or can be returned to the power grid.
* A monitoring system accessible from any Internet connection, showing real-time energy production and generation.

"When we heard Dow Powerhouse was available in San Antonio, we knew this was the perfect roofing solution for our high performance green homes," said Imagine Homes president John Friesenhahn. "Dow Powerhouse offers a homebuilder like us, a two-in-one product that protects the house from the elements, while harnessing the power of the sun to provide sustainable energy for the home, and allowing our homeowners to invest today and determine how much they want to protect against rising energy costs in the future. Just as importantly, Dow Powerhouse offers an aesthetically superior look for our exterior design. There is no other product on the market like it."

Made in the United States and backed by a 20 year warranty from Dow, the Powerhouse Solar Shingle is certified as both a solar and roofing product. It has received seven performance and safety certifications, including the backing of Underwriters Laboratories, International Code Council Evaluation Service certification and is proven to withstand rain, hail and wind uplift.

More at www.dowpowerhouse.com.

Imagine Homes is San Antonio's only true "green" volume homebuilder. The company was the first to build all homes under both the federal Energy Star program and the Build San Antonio Green program, co-administered by the Greater San Antonio Builders Association and the Metropolitan Partnership for Energy. Established in 2006 by Jim Bastoni and John Friesenhahn, Imagine Homes has grown quickly with homes built or under construction in six high-growth neighborhoods throughout the San Antonio area.