Solar Power from the sun has been a source of energy that dates back to ancient times. As early as 400BC the ancient Greek and Native Americans built their homes into hill sides, taking advantage of the heat storage from the sun. The Romans took their knowledge of the sun being a source of energy and used glass windows to trap the warmth from the sun in their homes. They were the first to build glass houses to grow plants and seeds.
In 1776 the first solar power collector was built and this attracted a great deal of interest in the scientific community throughout the 19th century. It was during the 1880’s that the first light converting photovoltaic cells were built. It was not long after this, in 1891, that the first commercial solar water heater was patented.
Developments in solar power were slower during the early 20th century. Solar power saw a rebirth, however, in the 1970’s, with the oil restrictions in force at this time, it was a great opportunity to utilize solar power. In the 1990’s we saw an even more mainstream interest in solar power. With the rising costs of oil and petroleum products, solar power was seen as a great alternative and during the 1990’s over one million homes had some form of solar power installed.
Today solar energy is used in a couple different ways. The first is the photovoltaic conversion format, otherwise known as solar panels. These panels are used to create electricity directly from the sun. They can be used alone or can be used in conjunction with other power resources. The second type of solar power is thermal solar power, which is where the sun is used to heat fluids, which then powers turbines or other types of machinery.
One of the main advantages of solar power is that the energy source is completely renewable. We can rely on the sun to provide us with more energy and light.
Although solar panels or solar lights may be expensive to buy, the initial investment is a small price to pay when considering the money that can be saved in the long run on electricity bills.
Solar energy is non-polluting; a further advantage of a solar power system for your home is the lack of pollution given off by the solar panels when generating electricity.
The solar cells are totally silent; they can extract energy from the sun without making any noise. In addition, they require very little maintenance and they last a long time. Solar powered lights and other solar powered products are also very easy to install and there are no wires involved in their installation.
There are increasingly easier and cheaper methods available to enable us to produce solar power for the home. Newer technologies, for instance, have enabled us to store the solar electricity produced though the use of solar power battery chargers.
Advantages of solar energy include the ability to supply power to some of the most remote places on earth. A great example of this is the huge difference solar power has made to mountain communities where it is difficult to construct power lines.
The sun will always be a super source of power and with the improvement of technology, the ability to harness this solar power will become even greater and more widespread in its use.