Solar panels: the advent of responsible energy

Solar power is energy from the sun. This energy, in the form of heat and light, supports all life on earth, drives the earth's climate and weather and is mostly responsible for the class of resources collectively known as renewable energy. Solar energy also broadly describes technologies that utilize sunlight.

The applications for solar power are diverse and date back millennia.

The Greeks, Native Americans, and Chinese heated their buildings by orienting them toward the sun. In Europe, farmers used elaborate field orientation and thermal mass to increase crop production during the Little Ice Age. Modern solar technologies continue to use the sun to provide water heating and electric power for millions. Solar power generally describes technologies that convert sunlight into electricity and in some cases thermal or mechanical power.

The long history of solar energy

In 1866, the French engineer Auguste Mouchout successfully powered a steam engine with the power of the sun. This is the first known recorded example of a solar-powered mechanical device. Over the next half-century inventors such as John Ericsson, Charles Tellier and Frank Shuman developed solar powered devices for irrigation, refrigeration, and locomotion. The modern age of solar power arrived in 1954 when scientists at Bell Laboratories invented a photovoltaic cell capable of effectively converting light into electricity. This breakthrough marked a fundamental change in how power is generated. Since that time, solar cell efficiencies have improved from 6% to 15% with experimental cells reaching efficiencies over 40%.

Falling prices make solar a wise choice today

Prices for solar power have fallen from $300 per watt to less than $3 per watt. The diversity of form and a long history of solar energy are manifest in a wide variety of applications. Many technologies use solar energy and many technological advances are being currently developed.
Active solar systems use electrical and mechanical components such as tracking mechanisms, pumps, and fans to process sunlight into usable power such as heating, lighting or electricity.
Passive solar systems use non-mechanical methods of controlling, converting and distributing sunlight into usable output such as heating, lighting, cooling or ventilation.
These techniques include selecting materials with favorable thermal properties, designing spaces that naturally circulate air, and referencing the position of a building to the sun.

Direct solar energy

Direct solar generally refers to technologies or effects that involve a single conversion of sunlight which results in a usable form of energy. Indirect solar generally refers to technologies that involve multiple transformations of sunlight which result in a usable form of power.
A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is a device that converts light into electricity using the photovoltaic effect. Until recently, their use has been limited because of expensive manufacturing costs. One cost-effective use has been in very low-power devices such as calculators with LCDs and similarly tiny gadgets. Another use has been in remote applications such as roadside emergency telephones, remote sensing, cathodic protection of pipelines, and limited "off grid" home power applications. A third use has been in powering orbiting satellites and spacecraft.

Solar power is here to stay, and the sooner you explore how much you can save, the sooner you can enjoy the benefits of residential solar power. Go to HahaSmart.com and try our price checker tool. It tells you how much solar power you need, and how much you can save.

Please visit our solar blog to find out more about the benefits of going solar.