Fun solar facts you didn’t know

The solar industry is changing quickly  as it continues to   grow globally. Solary energy is electromagnetic energy (solar radiation) transferred by the sun  that is the basis of all  life. It amounts to about 420 trillion kilowatt-hours, and is several thousand times greater than all the energy used by all the people. Solar energy is used by capturing  the sun's heat  or light . It’s a renewable energy source that can’t run out of solar energy.  We’ll have access to solar energy for as long as the sun is alive. Experts believe the sun will live on for  another 6.5 billion years.  
 

Here are a few fun facts that may surprise you about this popular source of power.

1. Solar energy is the most abundant energy resource on earth. At   173,000 terawatts of solar energy hitting our planet continuously. 

2. The first silicon solar cell, was built by Bell Laboratories in 1954. On the first page of its April 26, 1954 issue, The New York Times proclaimed the milestone, “the beginning of a new era, leading eventually to the realization of one of mankind’s most cherished dreams, the harnessing of the almost limitless energy of the sun for the uses of civilization.”

3. The space industry was an early riser of applying solar technology. In the 1950s, the industry used solar technology to give power aboard spacecraft. The Vanguard 1, the artificial earth satellite powered by solar cells is still the oldest manmade satellite in orbit. It  logs more than 6 billion miles.

4. Demand for solar in the U.S is at an all-time high. The amount installed  has jumped more than 23 times over the past eight years The U.S. is  the third-largest solar market globally and   positioned to become second.

5. As prices decrease, solar energy is becoming an economical energy choice for the U.S. The obstacle to affordable solar energy remains in soft costs (permitting, zoning and hooking a solar system up to the power grid). Local permitting and inspection processes add more than $2,500 to the total cost and can take up to six months to complete. 

6. California’s Mojave Desert is home to Ivanpah Solar Power Facility. This is the world’s biggest solar thermal energy plant. It uses solar power (CSP) technology to focus 173,500 heliostats, each containing two mirrors, onto boilers located in three power towers. The plant  has a gross capacity of 392 megawatts (MW). CSP technology  allows for clean  energy to be stored   after the sun sets. 

If you want to join the solar revolution, go to HahaSmart.com and try our price checker tool. You can see how much a system will cost, and how much you can save over the next 20 years. For more information about solar, don't forget to visit our solar blog section for guides and articles.