Las Vegas, Nevada - A new contender in the rooftop solar game was announced at CES 2022, and it might even be able to compete with Tesla's solar roofing products by being simpler to install – at half the price!

Martin DeBono, CEO of roofing and energy company GAF Energy, told Ars Technica that the company's new Timberline Solar Energy Shingles are a game changer, which he sees as the newest and easiest way to harness the power of the sun for half the price of Tesla's solar shingles.

"Our innovation is you now have a nailable solar roof, which fits the way that the majority of roofs are installed."

The usual process for adding solar power to your home had two steps: first, take off your old crusty shingles, then slap on some new ones, and finally install frames that hold solar panels.

But with GAF Energy's new shingles, which are already certified and installed on homes throughout the US, all roofers need to do is slap down the rows of solar shingles and then secure them with nails, just like with regular shingles. Then, an electrician wires them together, and you've got yourself a solar roof!

What's more, GAF bills its products as strong enough to withstand the full weight of a person, as well as being waterproof and capable of handling winds of up to 130 miles per hour.

"The roofing ecosystem is 20–30 times larger than solar. In the United States, 200,000–300,000 people get a new solar system each year. Over 5 million get a new roof," DeBono pointed out, setting out how much room for growth there is.

Solar power is sorely needed to keep the US on track in the fight against climate change.