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A Short History Of Solar Energy




Planning to go off-the-grid with a residential solar energy system in your home?

To fully understand more about solar and renewable energy, and what the future holds for it, it’s good to learn more about the history of solar energy. This article delves deeper into solar energy’s fascinating history.

Solar Energy Down The Ages

One of the more common and more popular roles that the sun, or solar energy played during those ancient times is that of a force able to sustain life based on its ability to provide an endless source of energy.

This is probably the reason why people of those times, especially in native South and North America, as well as in other parts of the world, worshipped the Sun. The ancient Greeks built temples devoted to worshipping their sun deities, namely, Helio and Apollo.

Also, the Greek’s use of solar energy was not limited to religious purposes, as they even used solar energy systems to incorporate passive solar design in the construction of their houses.

The Romans simply improved on Greek design and also incorporated windows into their structures, allowing them to be able to trap more solar heat.

How The Solar Water Heater Came To Be

Unknown to a lot of people, the original prototype for solar water heaters is actually a result of do-it-yourself projects of people who hoped to boil water, and keeping it hot for longer.

During the 18th century, scientists discovered that covering a box with a glass top while heating it would actually get the water to reach boiling temperature.

But it wasn’t until someone tried to combine a solar heat collector with a water tank that the first prototype for solar hot water heaters was created.

How Photovoltaic Cells Were Discovered

In 1839, at age 19, French physicist Edmond Becquerel experimentally demonstrated the photovoltaic effect by building the world's first photovoltaic (PV) cell in his father's laboratory.

British Astronomer, John Herschel was able to cook food with solar power during his African journey 200 years ago. In 1921, Albert Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize for "his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect."

Solar energy cells, also known as PV cells, were actually created when three Americans were building transistors with silicon during the 1950’s.

PV cells weren’t actually an affordable solar energy source back then, but, due to its practical use in the satellite industry, the solar energy cell industry became sustainable.

The Solar Energy Industry Today

Today, solar energy has garnered a lot of renewed interest and focus, especially since it has become more affordable, and offers more use and application in our modern-day needs.

Solar energy cells are actually being used in a lot of businesses and homes today, and are responsible for powering most household appliances, office equipment, and are even used to power cars and planes.

If you use solar power in your home’s heating system, you can slash the electric bill by 50%. In the last thirty years, the price of solar panels has dropped considerably by at least 200%. Solar power kits can now be purchased from $200-$500.

In the movie, Race the Sun with James Belushi and Halley Berry in the lead, a car shaped like a cockroach and covered with solar panels used the sun’s rays as an alternative energy source to run the car.

Solar thermal technologies are being used for water heating, space heating, space cooling and process heat generation. Solar energy is also being used to distil water and make saline or brackish water potable or drinkable.

Solar furnaces use a huge array of mirrors to concentrate the Sun’s energy on a small space and produce very high temperatures. Photovoltaic cells serve as the main fuel source for satellites in space.

There are now 1.3 million solar installations across the United States, with a cumulative capacity of over 40 gigawatts.

Most of Europe is using solar power despite its climate. The energy generated on sunny days is stored in batteries. In March 2019, Germany generated 54.5% of its electricity from renewable energy.

India has become the cheapest producer of solar power in the world and solar power now represents 9.2% of the total power generation capacity in India.

If you live in an area with lots of sunlight all through the year, solar power is an excellent choice. Solar power is free and clean, and after your initial investment in your solar energy systems, you no longer have to pay for the energy.

Learn about off-grid living, renewable energy, green living, and eco-friendly products at LifeOffGrid.org. Learn how to go green and reduce your ecological footprint in the Free How To Go Green course.




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