Solar Power

OK, here's a few facts you might need to know about solar energy. Solar energy, provided by the sun, is constantly replenished and will not produce harmful pollution unlike fossil fuels. Solar energy may be used passively, such as to heat and light buildings, or technology may be used to harness the sun's energy by collecting it and transforming it to generate electricity.

PHOTOVOLTAICS

Solar cells convert energy from the sun directly into electricity by what is known as the photovoltaic effect. This effect was first observed by Edmund Becquerel in 1839, when he noticed that light directed on to the electrodes of a battery cell increased the voltage. This led in the 1930s to the development of photocells, which were used in photographic exposure meters and other light sensors. It was not until 1954 that devices with a performance good enough for electrical power generation came on the scene. In that year, a team at Bell Laboratories reported that they had made a solar cell with a conversion efficiency of 6%. Conversion efficiencies have increased to over 24% and power levels from a few milliwatts to tens of kilowatts. The sudden quadrupling of oil prices by OPEC in 1973 stimulated interest in the possibilities of solar electricity on the ground. Today, photovoltaics (PV) is a growing industry serving a wide range of applications.

RSEC can advise on all aspects of microgeneration and solar energy for home and business.