The History Of Solar Energy
It happens every summer. The weather heats up to record temperatures. Swimming pools are overcrowded. Record usage of air conditioners causes power outages. The overheated masses throng to malls and movie theaters where they collapse in the air-conditioned coolness.
In the middle of the biggest heat wave anyone can remember, you turn on the noontime news program and there he is: the local weatherman, trying to fry an egg on the sidewalk. He may not be able to flip a sunny-side up egg on the sidewalk, but as the egg white starts to turn opaque, you realize he might just pull it off.
That, my friends, is what solar energy is all about.
Ancient Uses Of Solar Energy
Ancient humans were well aware of the impact solar energy could have on their lives. Throughout history, architecture has been designed to shelter occupants from too much sun in hot climates and to maximize exposure to solar energy in moderate or cold climates. If you visit warm-weather cities in Arizona, you will notice the wide overhangs built all the way around the house. These overhangs help shelter the windows in the home from the scorching sun.
Crops rely on solar energy to live. All plants use photosynthesis to convert sunlight to fuel for growth. Early farmers knew this, so they elevated the beds in which they grew their crops and oriented them toward the sun to maximize the amount of solar energy their crops received during the day.
Throughout history, humankind has used solar energy to remove moisture from hides and freshly washed clothing. Today we toss clothes into the clothes dryer to dry them when we do the laundry, but our ancestors arranged their wet clothes on rocks and trees and, more recently, clotheslines.
Modern Uses Of Solar Energy
Today, solar energy is used to heat water, light buildings, and power electrical appliances like ovens, refrigerators - even cars are powered by the sun, as hybrid cars can be plugged into electrical outlets that draw on photovoltaic solar energy.
The clothesline is enjoying a renewal in popularity as individuals who want to preserve electrical power look to the sun to dry their clothes, enjoying the fresh smell clothes get from drying naturally outdoors.
Photovoltaic energy can provide electrical power for an entire household, with electricity so spare. Flat collector panels, usually installed on top of the roof, create electricity in solar cells. The electricity is routed through wires to a transformer where the direct current (DC) electricity created by sunlight is converted to alternating current (AC) electricity and stored in batteries. When someone in the house plugs in a toaster, a hair dryer, or a hybrid car, the appliance draws on AC power from the solar-powered batteries to provide energy.
Solar energy will continue to increase in popularity as fossil fuels become more and more expensive to extract from the earth and consumers demand clean-burning, renewable energy sources.
