Roofing shingle system and shingles for use therein

1. A single layer roofing shingle comprising:

a headlap portion including a non-straight longitudinal edge along a side of said shingle defining headlap peaks that extend away from a longitudinal center of said shingle and headlap valleys that extend toward the longitudinal center of said shingle;

a buttlap portion including a plurality of tabs extending from said headlap portion, said tabs spaced apart to define a plurality of openings between said tabs;

wherein said buttlap portion further includes a non-straight longitudinal edge along a side of said shingle defining buttlap peaks that extend away from the longitudinal center of said shingle and buttlap valleys that extend toward the longitudinal center of said shingle;

and wherein the non-straight longitudinal edge of said buttlap portion and the non-straight longitudinal edge of said headlap portion do not shadow each other laterally across said shingle.

2. The shingle according to claim 1 , wherein the non-straight longitudinal edge of said buttlap portion and the non-straight longitudinal edge of said headlap portion mirror each other laterally across said shingle.

3. The shingle according to claim 2 , wherein the apex of each said buttlap peak is approximately located at a center of said tabs and the nadir of each said buttlap valley is approximately located at a center of said openings.

4. A single layer roofing shingle comprising:

a headlap portion including a non-straight longitudinal edge defining a first uniform pattern of headlap peaks that extend away from a longitudinal center of said shingle and headlap valleys that extend toward the longitudinal center of said shingle in a uniform pattern;

a buttlap portion including a plurality of tabs extending from said headlap portion, said tabs spaced apart to define a plurality of openings between said tabs;

wherein said buttlap portion further includes a non-straight longitudinal edge defining a second uniform pattern of buttlap peaks that extend away from the longitudinal center of said shingle and buttlap valleys that extend toward the longitudinal center of said shingle in a uniform pattern;

wherein the non-straight longitudinal edge of said buttlap portion and the non-straight longitudinal edge of said headlap portion mirror each other laterally across said shingle;

wherein said buttlap peaks are approximately located at the center of said tabs defining a maximum tab width dimension;

and wherein the distance between the apex of each said buttlap peak and the apex of each corresponding headlap peak located directly across said shingle from said buttlap peak defines a maximum width of said shingle.

5. The shingle according to claim 4 , wherein said first and second uniform patterns are sinuously curved.

6. The shingle according to claim 4 , wherein said first uniform pattern comprises straight lines between said headlap peaks and headlap valleys, and said second uniform pattern comprises straight lines between said buttlap peaks and buttlap valleys.

7. The shingle according to claim 4 , wherein said maximum width of said shingle is about twelve inches.

8. The shingle according to claim 4 , wherein said maximum tab width dimension is about five inches.

9. A roofing system comprising:

a plurality of shingles having a headlap portion and a buttlap portion;

wherein said buttlap portion includes a plurality of tabs extending from said headlap portion, said tabs spaced apart to define a plurality of openings between said tabs;

wherein the roofing system comprises a plurality of courses of shingles;

wherein at least a portion of the headlap portion of a shingle from a subsequently installed course of shingles overlaps at least a portion of the headlap portion of a shingle from a previously installed course of shingles defining a headlap overlap region having a maximum headlap overlap dimension;

wherein the maximum headlap overlap dimension is beneath the headlap portion of a subsequently installed shingle laterally proximate the openings in the buttlap portion of said subsequently installed shingle;

and wherein at least about 33% of said shingles of said roofing system comprise roofing shingles according to claim 1 or 4 .

10. The roofing system according to claim 9 , further comprising shingles having a generally straight longitudinal headlap edge.

11. The roofing system according to claim 9 , wherein said maximum headlap overlap dimension is about two inches.

12. A roofing system comprising:

a plurality of shingles having a headlap portion and a buttlap portion;

wherein said buttlap portion includes a plurality of tabs extending from said headlap portion, said tabs spaced apart to define a plurality of openings between said tabs;

wherein the roofing system comprises a plurality of courses of shingles;

wherein at least a portion of the headlap portion of a shingle from a subsequently installed course of shingles overlaps at least a portion of the headlap portion of a shingle from a previously installed course of shingles defining a headlap overlap region having a maximum headlap overlap dimension;

wherein the maximum headlap overlap dimension is beneath the headlap portion of a subsequently installed shingle laterally proximate the openings in the buttlap portion of said subsequently installed shingle;

and wherein at least about 50% of said shingles of said roofing system comprise roofing shingles according to claim 1 or 4 .

13. The roofing system according to claim 12 , further comprising shingles having a generally straight longitudinal headlap edge.

14. The roofing system according to claim 12 , wherein said maximum headlap overlap dimension is about two inches.