History of

• The sun has influenced the activities of man since the beginning our time. The ancient Greeks and Chinese built their cities to benefit from the sun by placing their houses in positions to maximize light and warmth. Romans built the first greenhouses that could turn sunlight into heat. This enabled the use of protected environments for the growth of rare crops and plants. Farmers have developed timed planting cycles and tailored row orientations to gain full advantage from the sun. Although solar energy has only recently become a realistic option, it has long been theorized as a source of power. In fact, Leonardo Da Vinci wrote about the possibility of solar energy more than 500 years ago.
  
  

Evolution

• Solar electricity began with the invention of the first solar cell in 1880. Charles Fritts developed a photovoltaic cell that could turn sunlight into a direct electrical current. This photoelectric effect converted nearly one percent of the light into electricity. Other scientists quickly followed and developed solar cells that could convert 4.5 to 6 percent of light into energy. The cold war space race and the 1973 oil crisis sparked further interest into developing these solar cells. Now countries around the world such as the United States, Japan, Germany, France and Italy are all racing to develop new forms of solar power technology.
  
  

The Facts

• Despite the advantages solar power offers, very few people around the world are taking advantage of this technology. A recent study estimated that less than one percent of homes in the United States effectively utilize solar energy. Part of the problem is that purchasing and installing solar panels on homes costs an estimated $10,000 for an averaged sized home. However, despite the low usage rate of today, experts estimate that a shortage of fossil fuels will force more than 25 percent of Americans to use solar energy by 2050.
  
  

Benefits

• Solar energy allows us to utilize our galaxy's most potent energy source for electricity, water heating, desalination, disinfection, automobile energy and wastewater treatment. Best of all, using energy from the sun is free of charge and eco-friendly. The only associated price is the cost of the equipment.
  
  

Misconceptions

• Just because the sun sets at night does not mean that the idea of solar energy is inherently flawed. Many methods are available for storing solar energy like thermal mass systems, phase change materials, grid energy storage systems and pumped-storage hydroelectricity.