Solar is our top renewable energy option

Every day, the earth receives an unbelievable supply of solar energy. The sun is a fusion reactor that has been burning over four billion years. It provides enough energy in one minute to supply the world's energy needs for one year. In one day, it provides more energy than our current population would use in 27 years. In fact, "The amount of solar radiation striking the earth over a three-day period is equivalent to the energy stored in all fossil energy sources."

Solar energy is a free, inexhaustible resource, yet harnessing it is a relatively modern idea. The ability to use solar energy for heat was the first discovery. A Swiss scientist, Horace de Saussure, developed the first thermal solar collector in 1767, which was later used to heat water and cook food. The first commercial patent for a solar water heater went to Clarence Kemp of the US in 1891. This system was purchased by two California executives and installed in one-third of the structures in Pasadena by 1897.

The history of solar power

Producing electricity from solar energy was the second discovery. In 1839 a French physicist named Edmund Becquerel discerned that the sun's energy could produce a "photovoltaic effect" (photo = light, voltaic = electrical potential). In the 1880s, selenium photovoltaic (PV) cells were developed that could transform light into electricity with one to two percent efficiency ("the efficiency of a solar cell is the percentage of available sunlight converted by the photovoltaic cell into electricity"), but how the conversion happened was not widely understood. Photovoltaic power, therefore "remained a curiosity for many years, since it was very inefficient at turning sunlight into electricity." It was not until Albert Einstein offered an explanation for the "photoelectric effect" in the early 1900s, for which he won a Nobel Prize, that people began to understand the related photovoltaic effect.

Solar energy may have had great potential, but it was left dormant when fossil fuels became more affordable and available. For instance, the US Department of Energy financed the installation and testing of over 3,000 PV systems during the 1973-1974 oil embargo. By the late 1970s, energy companies and government agencies had invested in the PV industry, and "a tremendous acceleration in module development took place." Solar energy developments were again sought during the Gulf War in the 1990s.

Advantages of solar energy

There are several advantages of photovoltaic solar power that make it one of the most hopeful renewable energy sources in the world. It is non-polluting, has no moving parts that could break down, demands little maintenance and no supervision, and has a life of 20-30 years with low operating costs. Remote localities can easily produce their own supply of electricity by building a solar system. Solar power generators are distributed to homes, schools, or businesses, where their manufacture requires no extra development or land area and their function is safe and quiet. As communities grow, more solar energy capacity can be appended, thereby allowing power generation to keep in step with growing needs without having to overbuild generation capacity as is often the case with conventional large scale power systems.

Compare those characteristics to those of coal, oil, gas, or nuclear power, and the choice is clear. Solar energy technologies offer a clean, renewable and domestic energy source. With solar's financial advantages becoming more apparent, many home and business owners are opting for the convenience and savings of a solar power system. Investment experts say that investing in solar energy is one of the best investments because the initial installation costs are quickly offset.

There has never been a better time to install a solar energy system! For more information relating to going solar, don't forget to visit our solar blog section for more handy guides and articles.

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