The field of solar energy is one that's constantly moving, with lots of research going on in the laboratory to improve efficiency or on the manufacturing side to make the panels easier to install, less expensive to make, or more durable – in some cases, all three.
One of the leaders in this latter development is Uni-Solar, which has brought to market Solar Shingles. These can be retrofitted to a house (or better yet, installed as new construction) and turn the actual surface of your roof into a solar array. They have the advantage of being less expensive, and much easier to install, while also being a bit less overt than the traditional solar cell array. They're not quite as efficient, but their lower production cost, greater durability, and ability to cover more of the surface of your roof will make up for that difference. They're available as shingled, rolled out roofing and bonded arrays.
Uni-Solar is also working on techniques to make them multi-layered, so that each layer of the panel reacts to a different wavelength of light, hoping to boost efficiency into the 20-21% range. This is still being worked on as a factory process.
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About the Author
John Horning specializes in reporting on do-it-yourself solar power projects and related topics. Visit his website at DIY-Solar-Power.net.
