Energy from the sun

Global warming is one of the most challenging problems the world must face in the coming years. Climate change is wreaking havoc all over the world. This summer, news of heat-related deaths is frightening citizens in many countries. Japan is experiencing the hottest temperatures since meteorological records have been kept and many deaths have resulted from the stifling heat in several other countries. Similar reports have come in from Canada, Europe and other places in the northern hemisphere. Does this mean we are doomed to consistently hotter temperatures forever? Perhaps not if solar energy has anything to say about it. Solar power is energy collected directly from the sun. This energy, in the form of heat and light, supports all life on earth, controls the earth's climate and is largely responsible for the class of resources collectively known as renewable energy.

Solar is really nothing new

Humans have been using the sun for heat for thousands of years. The Greeks, Native Americans, Chinese, and others 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 of people. Solar power consists of 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 powered a steam engine with the energy of the sun. This is the first recorded example of a solar-powered mechanical device. Over the next fifty years, inventors such as John Ericsson, Charles Tellier, and Frank Shuman invented solar-powered devices for irrigation, refrigeration, and locomotion. The modern age of solar power arrived in 1954 when scientists at Bell Laboratories developed a photovoltaic cell capable of effectively converting light into electricity. This breakthrough marked a fundamental change in how power is produced. Since that time, solar cell efficiencies have increased from 6% to 15% with experimental cells reaching efficiencies over 40%.

Direct solar energy

Direct solar refers to technologies that comprise a single conversion of sunlight which produces a usable form of energy. Indirect solar generally refers to technologies that involve multiple transformations of sunlight which result in a usable form of energy.

A solar cell is a gadget that changes light into electricity using the photovoltaic effect. Until recently, their use has been limited because of expensive production costs. One cost-effective use has been in very low-power devices that require little juice, such as calculators with LCDs and similarly diminutive 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.

The time for solar power is now

There are so many good reasons for investing in a solar energy system. Today, with solar panel prices falling, it makes more sense than ever before to begin generating your own electricity. Wouldn't it feel great to have power when the grid has a power outage? But many solar consumers say they feel empowered by generating their own power and feel like part of a global environmental movement that refuses to accept pollution as a way of life. Those who install solar panels are setting a good example for the entire community.

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.

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

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