A Brief History of Solar Power

The start of modern solar power history can be traced to the middle of the 19th century. During this time the industrial age was beginning to influence much of western Europe. The need for a combustible resources in massive quantities being one of them. This resource was coal and forward thinkers, inventors and scientists began to ponder what might happen to society should this resource run out. The results of this thinking is the modern solar power industry. This article will plot the history of solar power from this time to modernity.

From 1860 to 1880, Auguste Mouchout, a French engineer devised and developed a solar powered engine. The purpose of the engine was to convert solar heat into steam power. He saw the increased need for an energy resource given the sudden expansion of factories and railway lines during the early industrial revolution.

The French Emperor was so impressed with the device that he gave Mouchout a state subsidy to continue developing the engine. The subsidy eventually lapsed without much headway and cheaper coal resources were negotiated putting an end to the solar powered engine in France.

During this time, William Adams devised a similar solution that had greater capacity. He built a rack consisting of small mirrors around a boiler. The sun's energy was used to heat water to create steam. This gave hime a 2.5 horsepower output from an engine connected to the boiler.

In 1885 for approximately 4 years, Charles Tellier performed experiments with solar energy. He eventually created solar collectors that were installed on rooftops. The aim of the collectors was to power refrigeration units.

In 1903, Aubrey Eneas began his research into solar power. He was deeply influenced by the work of Auguste Mouchout to the extent that he developed a similar style of solar powered engine. It was a more efficient machine on a larger scale and he managed to sell it. It was sold for around $2000 (a substantial sum in those days) to a Doctor in Arizona. Unfortunately the engine was damaged en route and was never set up and made operational. He made another engine that he sold for a similar sum. This too never made it to fully functional as it was damaged in a hailstorm.

During this period, Henry E. Willsie created 2 solar plants that collected energy during the day so that it could be used at night. He used flat plate collectors to do this. They created about 15 horsepower of output.

In 1906, Frank Shuman improved on Willsies system to create an engine that had a capacity of 33 horsepower. With further enhancements he eventually got his engine to around 55 horsepower.

The solar industry seemed to go into the doldrums during the war years. Not much of note was developed until 1954. Researchers in the Bell laboratories noticed the reaction of silicon with sunlight. The end result was the invention of photovoltaic cells.

Photovoltaic (PV) cells are the underlying principle behind the solar panels that you see on many a rooftop today. It creates direct current from sun light.

With the crises with oil shortages and massive increases in the cost of gasoline, research into alternative energy sources was renewed. In terms of solar power, much research went into making PV cells more efficient and cheaper.

PV cells have developed significantly since the early days. They are now increasingly cheaper and more efficient than their predecessors. This improvement will continue as people and governments begin to take solar power seriously. More people are installing solar panels in their homes and this will only increase in the future. More grants and subsidies exist for the creators and users of solar powered technology.

Article Source: http://www.articlesfeed.com

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