Imagine a world of solar rooftops—where solar panels or lightweight, solar shingles provide each home with its own, self-contained source of electricity. Imagine not having an oil, gas or electric bill because even on cloudy days your roof would effortlessly harness and store the rays of the sun to provide you with all the energy you need.

Imagine that down at the Mall, shops and restaurants would be enjoying free solar energy too, and passing their savings on to you in the form of lower prices. Just think, there would be no summer power blackouts from air-conditioning overload because there would be no power grid. Power failures from storms and downed power lines would also be a thing of the past. The air you breathe would be cleaner too due to decreased CO2 emissions from fossil fuels.

So, why don’t we have this world already? The basic technology is not new. The Romans used sun reflected from mirrors to warm water in their baths. Modern solar panels have been around for nearly half a century. US President, Jimmy Carter, had them installed in the White House when he was in office (Ronald Reagan ripped them out)

Here’s why: The cost of initial solar rooftop installation is too high for the average homeowner with a mortgage to pay and a family to feed. It can take up to 20 years to recoup that high initial investment. So for most people the game is not worth the candle. Real estate developers and residential builders have not considered solar installations practical either, for basically the same reason. As long as oil was cheap and abundant nobody cared. But times, as they say, are changing.

The development of lighter, smaller, and more efficient solar panels and the invention of a usable photovoltaic solar shingle have made home solar rooftop installations practical. The reality of global warming and the runaway price of oil have made solar rooftops inevitable. Within a few years, the world of solar rooftops that we imagine will be here. It’s an idea whose time has come.