Solar Power History: DISCOVER How Solar Power Came to Be in This Article

Solar power is a story that stretches back over centuries. This is often surprising to people who think this is purely a phenomenon that has arisen over the last 50 years or so. In fact generating power from the sun’s rays had come to the attention of scientists many years before.

Mouchout in France created a solar engine in 1860. It was a modest start and worked with solar energy being reflected on to an iron vessel containing water. The effect was multiplied by having a number of reflectors around the vessel. When the water heated it produced steam and the steam pressure then operated a rudimentary steam turbine. This invention was simply the culmination of the realization by many people that the sun could be a source of energy to illuminate their homes and that this energy could also be put to other uses as well.

Mouchout’s solar engine was then notably enhanced by inventors such Charles Tellier, John Ericsson, Henry E. Willsie Eneas and Shuman. William Adams one of the inventors who succeeded Mouchout made a version of the solar engine with 72 mirrors or reflectors. This enhancement alone boosted the power output by a factor of three. Yet the problem remained that the coal-fired engines that were available at the time were more convenient and less expensive to use.
The Tennessee Valley Authority started to set the direction however in the first half of the twentieth century by encouraging the use of hydroelectric power plants. In the Netherlands windmills began to be used more and more for pumping water. At the same time many people came to understand that fossil fuel was not a renewable source of energy and that alternative sources would need to be explored.

Alternative energy sources were still being researched when the mass market for motorcars exploded. The intensive use of motorcars exhausted it even the local crude oil supplies in the United States. This was a problem of crude oil being a victim of its own success. The initial process for extracting and refining food petroleum had been perfected by colonel Edwin Drake in Pennsylvania who had been able to produce a range of derivatives including kerosene and basic petroleum by feeding the crude oil into a fractional column. The U.S. started to import crude oil from the Arab world where it seemed at the time that there was no limit to the amount of oil in these lands. However amongst Arabs sheikhs, wars and also internal feuding threatened the stability of supply of crude oil and encouraged efforts to be stepped up on the search for alternative power sources. Public opinion started to move in the direction of pushing for alternative power sources and their introduction in the market.

The first silicon solar cell that was able to produce a real electric current simply by sitting in the sun, was developed by Gerald Pearson, Daryl Chapin and Calvin Fuller. Their work as scientists at the Bell Laboratories in 1953 constituted the first major advance in solar energy cell generation. Their inventions however needed to face and resolve a number of technical and business challenges.

For one thing, the solar PV (photovoltaic) cells were in the initial stages much too expensive to produce. They did not give the required output either. This however changed as the invention became mass-produced thanks to initiatives taken mainly by the German and Japanese governments. The growth in the production of photovoltaic cells has since then achieved an astounding rate of growth. The market for photovoltaic energy cells using solar power is currently increasing at a staggering 30 percent per annum. Japan has already begun to make hybrid cars that use both classical fuel as well as solar power, and in the U.S. solar panels operate for many homes and workplaces to provide heating.

Solar power should therefore increase in use throughout the world . We can also expect it to become less and less expensive. This is a natural consequence of leveraging a renewable source of energy provided by nature and also has the benefit of reducing pollution.

Jumping in your RV and leaving the rat race for the weekend is an American tradition. Did you know you can provide power to your RV with the sun while getting away from it all?

The Sun is Everywhere!

One of the biggest misconceptions regarding solar power is that it is limited to large panel systems on roofs. Au contraire! With new nanotechnology, solar power systems will soon be applied with the paint you use to improve your home. That’s still two or three years away, so what about now?

If you enjoy taking the RV out for an excursion, you can use solar power to provide your electrical needs. Whether you are going camping or to a NASCAR race, it is an exceedingly simple process.

Unlike homes, RVs run on direct current electricity. This makes them perfect for solar electricity since solar systems produce direct current electricity instead of alternating current. Put another way, there is no need for bulky converters to flip the electricity from direct to alternating. Instead, you can use the sun to power up your batteries directly.

Portable solar systems consist of pop-up solar modules with four or five panels. Essentially, they look like small ladders with solar panels instead of steps. You just pop them up on the roof of the RV or in an area where the sun hits them. The systems tie directly into your batteries and power them up during the day. Super easy and super clean.

The real advantage to solar RV systems has to do with noise. The traditional method for recharging your RV batteries is to turn on a generator and generators can be very loud. Even the quietest generator makes enough noise to make you feel like you live next to a construction site. Solar systems make no noise at all. There are no moving parts, just the sun beating down on the panels. You’ll never know they are even there.

If RVing is your thing, portable solar modules are worth taking a look at. With high fuel prices, you need to save a buck wherever you can.

As solar power has matured as a technology, companies have started applying it to more than just houses. Acting as an energy platform for our transport was an obvious application.

Solar: Will It Ever Power Our Vehicles

As an active technology, one of the first uses for solar power was on NASA spacecraft. Although not used for propelling the crafts, interested parties immediately started thinking about using solar power for getting us around in our daily lives. Alas, there were so many problems with the technology, including efficiency issues, that the idea never really gained much footing. With the massive popularity of hybrid vehicles, companies and research institutes are revisiting the idea.

Vehicles getting all of their energy from the sun are not a viable option at this time or for the near future. The problem is you simply can’t produce enough energy to meet the power needs. Until technology is developed to make the sunlight conversion process much more efficient, there really is not an answer to the problem. This technological advance, however, may not be far away.

Quantum dots are a form of nanotechnology that is being developed by numerous companies for solar power applications. This technology essentially tries to create tiny solar robots to convert the sunlight to energy. Millions fit within small areas and the hope is the efficiency conversion rate will go through the roof. The companies are looking to create a platform where the robots would exist in paint. Yep, the paint on your home and car may eventually produce all the energy needed.

In the meantime, solar power applications are being developed with a focus on hybrids. The basic idea is to use solar power to provide energy to the batteries powering the hybrid cars. Put another way, it is a step towards the ultimate goal. Honda does not discuss its research, but is believed to have built a facility solely for this purpose and is dumping money into it hand over foot.

The creation of viable solar vehicles is dependent on the advances of the underlying technology. Solar hybrids should be on the market relatively quickly. The big breakthrough, however, will be when viable commercial applications are developed using nanotechnology.

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In a world seemingly obsessed with finding renewable energy sources, solar power has become a common feature in day-to-day life. Although the technology was initially released before it was fully tested, and therefore gained a poor reputation for reliability, since the turn of the Millennium it has grown in stature and promise. One can forgive the scientists behind the development for this over-eagerness in releasing what could one day be a primary resource for fuel and power in the modern world, especially as the majority of the kinks are now ironed out.

 

It is therefore natural that many are considering the possibility of solar powered vehicles. With the non-renewable fossil fuels being consumed by motorists at a rate that the planet will soon no longer be able to supply, the idea of having a car entirely powered by solar powers is an intriguing one.

 

It is not, however, a particularly new one. Almost since the invention of solar panels, pioneering developers have been trying to find a way to harness the technology for the car. The idea of being able to run a car with no emissions and no consumption of fossil fuels would indeed be arguably the biggest leap in engineering since the Wright brothers, but is it really possible?

 

The steps are beginning to be made. For example, Toyota – who market the worlds most popular hybrid vehicle, the Prius – are said to be considered installing solar panels on new versions of the Prius. However, the panels will only be used to power the air conditioning and electrical systems. While this is advancement in the general concept, it isn\’t the finished article.

 

In truth, solar powered cars do exist. Powering a vehicle by the force of the sun alone is possible, but the problems arise in the practicalities. Two annual races currently exist for solar powered vehicles only, the World Solar Challenge and North American Solar Challenge. However, many of the competitors are engineering under and post graduates, as well as technologically minded individuals. The notable absence in these races is in the big car manufacturers, the people who genuinely could make solar powered vehicles a reality for all.

 

The question is then, if a solar powered vehicle is possible, will it ever replace the standard combustion engine? The issue is open for debate, but it would seem unlikely. Toyota may have implemented the concept of solar panels to power electrics and air conditioning, but perhaps only after trying to power the entire vehicle with solar energy and failing.

 

The main flaw in solar powered vehicles is size. To get the most out of the suns rays, a lot of solar powers are needed, far more than can ever be fit onto an actual car. From the small space available, it is perfectly possible to generate the necessary power from the sun to power the electric engine of a car, but only for very short distances and in sunny conditions. The idea, it would seem, will remain a fun experiment for mechanical students, and the ever popular races will continue. However, under current ideas for solar vehicles, it is unlikely your family hatchback is going to come complete with solar panels any time in the future.