| Solar Power History | | | | their yield. Even today, sunlight optimization is the |
| "I have no doubt that we will be successful in | | | | primary agenda for anyone who is involved in |
| harnessing the sun's energy... If sunbeams were | | | | farming or gardening, starting from planning their |
| weapons of war, we would have had solar | | | | planting schedule, strategizing row orientation, |
| energy centuries ago." These are words of Sir | | | | altering plant heights between rows, etc. |
| George Porter (December 1920 - August 2002), | | | | Man has always built his home to take the most |
| Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, which today is a | | | | out of available sunlight. Critical use of solar |
| reality. The energy which is derived from the sun | | | | energy is evident in today's urban building designs |
| and responsible for practically all life on earth is | | | | where not only the building orientation but window |
| today harnessed for generating heat, light, power | | | | placements and proportions and building materials |
| and electricity for meeting global needs for | | | | are chosen to harness the most of this invaluable |
| alternate energy resources. Yet the concept and | | | | energy form. The importance of solar energy |
| use of solar energy is not new. Early Greeks, | | | | was realized by first century Roman architect |
| Native Americans and Chinese have used it to | | | | Vitruvius who commented that home designs |
| their benefit by orienting their home and hearth | | | | must be made according to the diversity of the |
| toward the sun for centuries. The term solar | | | | climate of that particular region. Solar energy |
| power has today become synonymous with solar | | | | when deployed to supplement day lighting |
| energy which is obtained by converting sunlight to | | | | techniques, homes can save enormous amount of |
| electricity. | | | | resources by making maximum use of sunlight |
| While the application span of solar energy now | | | | during all the time that it lasts. The importance of |
| encompasses the domestic (including cooking and | | | | solar lighting or natural light was appreciated way |
| heating), commercial, industrial, farming, aviation | | | | back in 6th century Rome and later corroborated |
| and surface transport sectors, there are several | | | | by the British in 1832. In fact, it was only in the |
| technologies which are in place to generate this | | | | 20th century that artificial methods became the |
| type of natural energy. In fact, solar energy has | | | | primary source of interior lighting. The energy and |
| now found its place in every day use items like | | | | oil crises during 1973 and 1979, made people |
| cars and calculators. | | | | re-focus on natural lighting, but soon the interest |
| Back in historical times, solar energy may not | | | | died due to cheap available sources of energy. |
| have been known by any name, but its use has | | | | One of the areas where solar energy is most |
| always been the backbone of agriculture ever | | | | widely used today is in the field of solar thermal |
| since man learned to till the land and grow food or | | | | applications, where the applied technology uses |
| crops. We have seen the importance of this | | | | heat from the sun to heat water and space; for |
| energy in medieval Europe where farmers | | | | ventilation; for processed heat required for |
| deployed elaborate agricultural strategies to get | | | | industrial applications, cooking, for water distillation |
| the maximum out of sunlight for the wellbeing of | | | | plants, etc. |