A system including a solar module installed on a roof deck, including a superstrate layer, an encapsulant having an upper layer and a lower layer, and a photovoltaic layer intermediate the upper layer and the lower layer of the encapsulant. An upper surface of the superstrate layer includes an indentation pattern. The indentation pattern includes a mesh of indentations indented into the upper surface of the superstrate layer and a plurality of openings defined by the mesh of indentations.

A roofing shingle includes a head lap and at least one solar cell. The head lap includes at least one handle located between a first end and a second end of the shingle and proximate to a first edge thereof. The at least one handle includes at least one cutout and a gripping portion. The at least one cutout is sized and shaped to receive an external object to facilitate transporting the shingle by a user.

A roofing shingle includes a head lap and at least one solar cell. The head lap includes at least one handle located between a first end and a second end of the shingle and proximate to a first edge thereof. The at least one handle includes at least one cutout and a gripping portion. The at least one cutout is sized and shaped to receive an external object to facilitate transporting the shingle by a user.

This invention, in embodiments, relates to a roofing material comprising (a) a coated or covered substrate and (b) a single sealant applied to a surface of the coated or covered substrate, with the single sealant being free of asphalt. The single sealant exhibits a minimum activation temperature (° C.) (tan δ>1) from −10° C. to 0° C. The single sealant is configured to adhere the roofing material to at least one of (i) an underlying roofing material, (ii) an overlying roofing material, and (iii) a roofing deck substrate.

This invention, in embodiments, relates to a roofing material comprising (a) a coated or covered substrate and (b) a single sealant applied to a surface of the coated or covered substrate, with the single sealant being free of asphalt. The single sealant exhibits a minimum activation temperature (° C.) (tan δ>1) from −10° C. to 0° C. The single sealant is configured to adhere the roofing material to at least one of (i) an underlying roofing material, (ii) an overlying roofing material, and (iii) a roofing deck substrate.

A roofing shingle including a lower layer including a headlap and a plurality of tabs extending from the headlap, and an upper layer including one or more fingers, wherein the one or more fingers are disconnected from one another, and wherein each of the one or more fingers is disposed on one tab of the plurality of tabs, wherein a number of the plurality of tabs is different than a number of the one or more fingers. In an embodiment, the lower layer is a lowermost layer of the roofing shingle. In another embodiment, the roofing shingle further includes an alignment feature disposed in an exposure zone of the roofing shingle, wherein the alignment features is adapted to permit alignment of adjacent roofing shingles during installation on a roof.

A roofing shingle including a lower layer including a headlap and a plurality of tabs extending from the headlap, and an upper layer including one or more fingers, wherein the one or more fingers are disconnected from one another, and wherein each of the one or more fingers is disposed on one tab of the plurality of tabs, wherein a number of the plurality of tabs is different than a number of the one or more fingers. In an embodiment, the lower layer is a lowermost layer of the roofing shingle. In another embodiment, the roofing shingle further includes an alignment feature disposed in an exposure zone of the roofing shingle, wherein the alignment features is adapted to permit alignment of adjacent roofing shingles during installation on a roof.

The present disclosure relates to roofing granule having a base granule with at least one layer on the base granule that includes hollow glass spheres embedded in a ceramic matrix and a roofing article having a substrate and a plurality of any embodiment of roofing granules described above. The disclosure additionally relates to a roofing granule precursor mixture containing base granules, an aluminum silicate, an alkali metal silicate, and hollow glass spheres. The disclosure also relates to a method of making roofing granules including providing base granules; applying a coating containing hollow glass spheres, an aluminum silicate, an alkali metal silicate to the base granules; and heating the coated granules to a temperature between about 550° F. and about 1000° F.

The present disclosure relates to roofing granule having a base granule with at least one layer on the base granule that includes hollow glass spheres embedded in a ceramic matrix and a roofing article having a substrate and a plurality of any embodiment of roofing granules described above. The disclosure additionally relates to a roofing granule precursor mixture containing base granules, an aluminum silicate, an alkali metal silicate, and hollow glass spheres. The disclosure also relates to a method of making roofing granules including providing base granules; applying a coating containing hollow glass spheres, an aluminum silicate, an alkali metal silicate to the base granules; and heating the coated granules to a temperature between about 550° F. and about 1000° F.

An insulated building structure, in particular an insulated roof structure or a wall structure of a building, comprises at least one thermal insulation layer. At least one moisture-variable protective layer for the thermal insulation layer is provided on an outer side of the thermal insulation layer and on an inner side of the thermal insulation layer facing a building interior of the building. The protective layers each have a water vapor diffusion equivalent air layer thickness S.sub.d. The water vapor diffusion equivalent air layer thicknesses S.sub.d of the two protective layers deviate from each other by less than 20%, preferably less than 10%, in the range of a relative humidity from 0% to 25% and/or in the range of a relative humidity from 80% to 100%.