Raising price of oil, gas and other commodities brings on the surface the question about utilizing other resources of energy like of solar energy.

History of Solar is as old as humanity. We always saw a great potential in using sun's capacity to warm our houses. Ancient Greeks and Romans saw the great benefit in sun's energy. They used architecture to use sun's rays to light and heat indoors. The first inventor of solar motor was Auguste Mouchout. In 1861 he developed a steam engine powered by the sun.

During 19th century solar energy intrigued and attracted European scientists. France and England hoped that the solar could power them in the sunny clonies of Africa and East Asia. In USA John Ericsson designed the “parabolic trough collector”, this technology was functioning more then a hundred years. In 20 the century Albert Einstein was the one who research the generation of electricity through solar cells.

In 1953 Bell laboratories scientists Gerald Pearson, Daryl Chapin and Calvin Fuller developed the first silicon solar cell capable of generating a measurable electric current. In 1956, solar photovoltaic (PV) cells were far from economically practical. It was not until October 1973 that the solar leapt to prominence in energy research. The Arab Oil Embargo demonstrated the degree to which the Western economy depended upon a cheap and reliable flow of oil. The US government invested in the solar electric cell that Bell had produced.

By the 1990s, the reality was that costs of solar energy had dropped and huge PV market grown in Japan and German. The PV market is currently growing 30% per year.

Solar Power comes from sunlight. This source can be harnessed to create electricity for humans. Devices which convert light into electricity are solar panels, known as photovoltaic's, which means “light-electricity”.

The solar panels are made of solar cells. What is a cell? A small disk of a semiconductor, like silicon. They are attached to circuit. Once the light strikes the cell, light is converted into electricity that flows through the circuit. Primary components foe solar panel is:

Solar panel
Charge controller
Battery and inverter

Solar Panels charge the battery, which provides DC voltage to the inverter and it converts DC to the normal AC.

Individual cells provide small amount of energy, but when connected together as a panel increase the output significantly. The output of solar panel is stated in watts. Wattage is determined by multiplying the rated voltage by the rated amperage. For example it 6 hours of peak sun (during the day) per day is available in an area, the average solar panel can produce about 360 watt hours of power per day.

The power of the system varies, depending on the intended geographical location. The electricity is only produced when solar panel exposed to the sun. Solar panels are very hard and wear out very slowly. Like in all systems we may find some losses of energy due to the fact that the electricity is carried across the wires, batteries which are not 10% efficient. That's why it is good to talk to professionals who are experienced in system designs.

Dora Wysocki, living and working in USA.

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