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Solar energy may seem new, but history actually dates it back to the 7th century B.C. Presently, technology has advanced to have everything from solar-powered buildings, homes, aircrafts, boats, and satellites, to solar -powered cars!
The Greeks, Romans and Chinese use burning mirrors to light torches for religious ceremonies. French-Swiss scientist Horace de Saussure was credited with building the world's first solar collector in 1767.
In 1839, a 19-year-old French scientist named Edmund Becquerel discovered the photovoltaic effect ("photovoltaic" is the conversion of solar light into electricity). French mathematician August Mouchet proposed the idea of a solar-powered steam engine. He experimented and built the first solar-powered engine for various purposes.
In 1873, Willoughby Smith observed the light sensitivity of selenium.
Following the discovery of the photoconductivity of selenium, in 1876 William Grylls and Richard Evans discover that selenium produces electricity when exposed to sunlight.
In 1883 Charles Fritts described the fist solar cells from selenium wafers.
The first commercial solar water heater was patented by Baltimore inventor, Clarence Kemp. Research continued into the 1900s. In 1921, Albert Einstein wins the Nobel price for his theories explaining the photoelectric effect.
The solar water heater gained popularity at this time in Florida, California, and the southwest. The industry started in the early 1920's and was in full swing just before world war II. This growth lasted until the mid-1950's when low-cost natural gas became the primary fuel for heating American homes.
In 1931, Thomas Edison wrote the following in a letter to Henry Ford: I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.
A scientist used heat from a solar collector to make steam to drive a steam engine. Scientists and engineers began researching ways to use solar energy and Charles Greeley Abbott, an American astrophysicist, invented a remarkably efficient solar boiler in 1936.
The first solar cell capable of converting enough of the sun's energy into power to run everyday electrical equipment was developed at Bell Labs in 1954. This photovoltaic technology was born in the United States. Following this success emerged solar water heating designs and the world's first solar heated office building.
In 1954, three American researchers, Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller and Daryl Chapin, designed a silicon solar cell capable of a six percent energy conversion efficiency with direct sunlight.
The three inventors created an array of several strips of silicon (each about the size of a razorblade), placed them in sunlight, captured the free electrons and turned them into electrical current. They created the first solar, panels. Bell Laboratories in New York announced the prototype manufacture of a new solar battery, funded by Bell. The first public service trial of the Bell Solar Battery began with a telephone carrier system (Americus, Georgia) in October of 1955.
In 1958, the Vanguard space satellite used a small array to power its radio. Later in the year, Explorer III, Vanguard II and Sputnik-3 were launched with PV-powered systems on board. Silicon solar cells were used successfully in powering satellites and remains so until today.
In the early 1970s, Dr Elliot Berman designed a less costly solar cell for applications on many offshore gas and oilrigs. Lighthouses, railroad crossings and domestic solar applications were viewed as viable and sensible to be used in remote locations where utilities could not be available affordably. The Institute of Energy Conversion was the world's first laboratory dedicated to PV research and development. It was established at the University of Delaware to perform research and development on thin film PV and solar thermal systems.
In 1981, the first solar powered aircraft was flown from France to England across the English Channel. An Australian, Hans Tholstrup, drives the first solar-powered car almost 2800 miles between Sydney and Perth.
Research in new material, cell designs, solar material and product development is still continuing. The price of photovoltaic power will be competitive with traditional sources of electricity within 10 years and we will soon be able to see the use of solar energy as a common scenario in everyday life!
