metal or fiber glass roofing meteral. witch would be the best & why?

solar power hot water. yes or no? why? cost? also solar for electricty. yes or no? & why? cost? i live in alabama.

Metal roofing is more expensive (much more), but lasts a lot longer. Fiberglass shingles are the standard option & come in 20 yr, 25 yr & 40 yr. The difference is the thickness & supposed durability. In Alabama you are in the tornado/hail belt, so your roof wil NOT last as long as the names would imply! The metal would be resistant to the hail, so that would solve one problem. I'm not as familiar with the solar options, but from what I have heard, they drastically reduce your ongoing energy costs.
i would think fiber glass you don't want lightning striking your house. solar power is a very good idea, they give government grants to help cover some of the cost and if you do it for electric some times the utility companies will buy back any power that you don't use. also look into wind generators. make sure all you appliances are energy star( saves energy usage) windows with special gas in between the glass just look it up on the web there is a huge assortment of applications