A brief history of solar energy
We have been using the sun to our advantage for thousands of years. Yet, it wasn’t till a couple hundred years ago that we worked out how to convert the sun’s energy to electricity. It’s the brief history of solar energy as we know it – starting in the 1800s.
In this article, we’ll look at how the technology to produce energy from sunlight came about, and how that technology has expanded into the clean.
The discovery of the photovoltaic (PV) effect and the creation of the first solar cell
The production of electricity via solar energy (otherwise known as the PV effect), can be attributed to 19 year old French experimental physicist Edmund Becquerel, who first discovered the effect in 1839. Becquerel found that some materials produced small amounts of electric current when exposed to light. However, it wasn’t until 1883 that Charles Fritz created the first PV cell.
However, these PV cells were hardly something to write home about. They converted less than one per cent of the available solar energy into electricity. While the PV effect was a great scientific discovery, it would be a while before it was anything more than an interesting gimmick.
Making the first, efficient PV solar cell
The first great step towards the practical application of photovoltaics took place in Bell laboratories in the United States in 1954. This is where the efficiency of solar cells crossed the 10 per cent threshold for the first time. These solar cells were made of silicon, which is still the base material of solar cells today – although their efficiency has been greatly improved upon.
Interestingly, the space program in the 1960s was one of the main industries that helped fuel the demand in this technology. The need for effective technology became more important than the high cost of production.
With usable energy produced from PV cells, the technology was finally able to be commercialised. With money to be made, PV technology was able to rapidly break ground in becoming more practical for everyday use.
Where is solar power now?
Today, solar power has never been as efficient, or as affordable.
Today, solar power has never been as efficient, or as affordable. Late 2016 saw a turning point. Solar energy is becoming the cheapest form of renewable energy, and is half the price of coal, according to Bloomberg. The price for solar panels has also dropped by half over the last five years.
On top of this, solar batteries are able to store the energy they generate during the day time, to be used at night, further reducing dependency on the electrical grid.
With solar becoming the personal power plant of 2 million Australians by 2019, the brief history of solar energy is not likely to stay that way.
To find out more about solar panels, or to find out where this technology is headed in the future, get in touch with the team at RK Solar and Counsulting today.