Solar power

The Sun produces a lot of light every second and it has been doing that for billions of years. Energy from the sun is called solar energy. Solar energy is a renewable resource that is inexhaustible and readily available, unlike fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. It is a clean energy source that can be used pollutionfree and allows for local energy independence.

People have used solar energy for thousands of years. Houses have windows so that sunlight can get inside and provide heat and light. The sun’s energy can also be used to heat water and even food. If you own a magnifying glass, your parents have probably warned you about leaving it in the sun. Solar energy can actually make the magnifying glass burn objects underneath it, causing a fire. This type of energy from the sun in the form of heat is called solar thermal energy. We can also turn the sun’s light into electricity. This is done with solar panels. Solar panels are made up of a material called silicon. The silicon is heated and formed into very thin wafers. When the sunlight hits the solar panel, the electrons (tiny particles) in the silicon move and flow through wires built into the solar panel. Using this technology, we can run a calculator and even power cars.

Types of solar power

Solar power is used a number of different ways, of course. There are two very basic kinds of solar energy:

- Solar thermal energy collects the sun's warmth through one of two means: in water or in an anti-freeze (glycol) mixture.

History of solar power

The Romans took their knowledge of the sun being a source of energy as they were the first people to use glass windows to trap the warmth of the sun in their homes. They were so serious about the preservation of this solar energy that they erected glass houses to create the right conditions to grow plants and seeds.

While many people were benefitting from solar power it wasn’t until 1776 that the first solar collector was built. This collector was built by a man named Horace de Saussare. His collector was cone shaped and would boil ammonia that would then perform like refrigeration and locomotion. This first solar power collector attracted much interest in the scientific community through the 19th century.

Auguste Mouchout created a steam engine that was powered only by solar energy in 1861. This was an exciting event, but the invention was very costly and it could not be reproduced or even maintained so the steam engine was quickly forgotten.

While the solar powered steam engine wasn’t viable in 1861 this did not stop the efforts of many who knew that solar power could be harnessed and used in many different ways. It was during the 1880’s that the first light converting photovoltaic cells were built. These cells were made of selenium and had an efficiency of one to two percent. I was not long after, in 1891, that the first commercial solar water heater was patented by Clarence Kemp..

For the next 50 to 60 years the developments were not as bold, but even Albert Einstein was working on using solar power, he was even granted a Nobel Prize in physics in 1921 for his work on the photoelectric effect. While the years of solar power went by quietly, in the 1950’s the development of solar power was benefitted by the production of the Czochralski meter. This was a process that produced pure crystalline silicone and by 1954 Bell Telephone Laboratories had developed a silicon photovoltaic cell that had a four percent efficiency that was later boosted to an 11% efficiency.

Future

The chances of producing solar power as a more commercially viable source of alternative energy seem brighter now with the positive research results from many scientists around the world.