Significant Solar Power Development Fun Facts

Here is a selection of extraordinary solar power fun facts. People have used the sun as a heat resource for thousands of years. It is only with the advances in technology that have taken place in recent years that have enabled us to fully harness this power.

Families in ancient Greece constructed their homes to get the most sunlight during the chilly winter months. The ancient Greeks thought that the sun was the god Helios and he drove his chariot round the earth towards the sky in the morning and in the evening back again.

The invention of the photovoltaic effect is credited to the French physicist Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel in 1839.

In 1921 the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Albert Einstein for experiments with solar power and photovoltaics.

Way back in 1955 The American Solar Energy Society held its first conference in Phoenix and attracted the first Russian scientist to the US since the second World War. There is film footage exhibiting early photovoltaics which was developed for NASA, solar cookers and solar heating panels.

The first solar flight occurred in 1974 in California by an unmanned plane which was developed by two brothers Roland and Bob Boucher.

In 1975 the first solar boat was constructed in England and in 1996 Kenichi Horie from Japan made the first solar powered crossing on the Pacific Ocean using a catamaran.

The earliest World Solar Challenge took place in 1987. This is the solar-powered car race covering 3021 km through the Australian outback from Darwin to Adelaide.

Did you know that it is possible to increase any solar power panel productivity by 75% simply by positioning a mirror that is about twice the size of the panel on the ground in front of the panel?

PV cells do not require direct sunshine to work - you may still generate some electric power on a cloudy day.

Solar electricity is a green, renewable power and does not release any damaging carbon dioxide or other pollution. An average home PV system can save around 1200kg of CO2 each year which is around 30 tonnes over a lifetime.

It is possible to store the electrical energy that a solar power system generates in batteries for a cloudy day.

You may sell any extra electricity that you produce using your solar power back to the power company making a little bit of money.

It takes only about eight minutes for solar energy to travel from the sun to the earth.

Around 30% of the radiation that we receive from the sun in the upper atmosphere is actually reflected back to space. The rest is absorbed by the clouds, oceans and also land masses on Earth. Yet even in these conditions, the energy that our planet receives from merely a single hour of sun exposure is equal to the amount of energy that humans use in an entire year.

Large scale solar projects that are being constructed world wide show that sun powered clean energy technologies are both attainable and lucrative. Solar power plants produce Megawatts (MW) with one MW being sufficient power to supply 1000 homes. One of the largest solar energy projects which the world has ever seen is the "Desertec" program to use the uninhabitable North African desert for a power grid of concentrated thermal electrical power stations which could supply Europe with all of its power needs by the year 2050. So much progress in such a brief period of time let us all see exactly where solar electricity will go from here.

Solar Power Companies - Watch Out For The Worldwide Energy Leaders
These days there are thousands of solar power companies that are able to supply solar power equipment to homeowners who want to save money on their energy costs.

Governments Encourage Solar Power Electricity Technology
Solar power electricity is just one of several methods that are used to generate electrical power. Scientists state that solar energy can potentially supply many, many times the total world energy requirements.

Foldable Solar Panel - Know Several Of The Advantages When Using This Electric Generator And The Right Way To Use It
Learn where to buy a good foldable solar panel for sale at an inexpensive price and start lowering your electricity now.

Solar String Brightness - A Great Way To Grace Your Own Home
Solar LED lights are increasingly becoming popular day by day due to its wide applications. Solar LED lights are best option for you to light up your house; they not only help in saving power but also help you to maintain a cleaner environment.

Enhance Your Exterior Area By Solar Outdoor LED Light Bulbs
You can find solar LED lights which have been made especially for the outside. These lights can exist through extreme weather conditions. There are also solar lights that feature vandal-proof panels. The actual fact that most of these are automatic also adds to their effectiveness.

Solar Power Patio LED Light Fittings
A lot of folks are choosing to spend more time outdoors enjoying time on there decks, and at night they're in need of some kind of lighting. This night time light may be rendered by solar deck LED lights.

Solar Powered Porch Thread Lights - Affordable Addition To Your Outdoor Deck Lighting
Solar String lights are the most common patio lights, they are similar to Christmas tree lighting with the exception of a plug. Other times you see them wrapped around a tree trunk, hung across a veranda or utilized in some form of outdoor garden decorations.

Alternative Energy From The Ocean: Hot Sea Water Found On The Surface
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) was conceived by the French engineer Jacques D'Arsonval in 1881. However, at the time of this writing the Natural Energy Laboratory from Hawaii was the home to the only operating experimental OTEC plant on the face of the earth.