Revamping an Old Idea

Solar power has been around for millions of years – even the earliest humans benefited from the sun, since it makes plants grow and animals thrive. Early man soon learned to direct the sun to provide warmth and it wasn’t long before someone figured out how to use it to start a fire.

Battery chargers, electric fences and many more applications have solar energy as their primary power source.

Many thousands of years later clever individuals learned to harness it even more exactly.
Hero of Alexandria devised a working steam engine around the turn of the first millennium and some models used solar energy to heat the water. In 1767, Swiss scientist Horace de Saussure devised the first known modern solar collector. He used glass boxes that later evolved into solar ovens. In 1839 Edmond Becquerel discovered the photovoltaic effect i.e. that sunlight could generate a current in certain electrolytes. But it was in 1954 that the modern solar power industry really started to take off when scientists at Bell Labs developed the first efficient PV (photovoltaic) cell.

Over the years a succession of impressive devices continued to improve in efficiency at lower manufacturing costs. At some point, the curves will cross and solar power will become a viable technology for even more uses than it sees today. To a degree this is already happening and some solar powered homes have been a reality for decades. Whether using PV (photovoltaic) modules to generate electricity or collector systems to heat water or supply warmth, these applications are now installed in thousands of homes.

While the cost is relative to power generated by large utility companies it remains expensive for some applications while for others it is actually cheaper. Millions of phones and lights along highways use small solar panels to power them and homeowners around the country use solar-powered lawn lamps to illuminate their yards without wires or batteries. Battery chargers, electric fences and many more applications have solar energy as their primary power source.

In developing countries solar devices are commonly used for water treatment although this may be as simple as pouring a gallon of water into a jug that sits in the sun for a few hours. In some cases it may consist of a solar still that kills disease-causing pathogens, and purifies at the same time. Chlorine is boiled off and minerals remain behind as the evaporate flows up and is distilled into containers.

Such methods are relatively cheap and require only simple technology, making them a much more viable method for those who can’t yet afford the high cost of more sophisticated applications.

Solar power has many valuable uses whether that is producing non-polluting electricity, enhancing health, or providing a convenient alternative to recreational vehicle users. With costs coming down and the price of oil, coal and other energy producing materials continuing to rise, those applications will become more prevalent – and that is beneficial for us all.