Humans have recognized and utilized the power of the sun for a long long time, but it is only in the last thirty years or so that solar energy has come to the forefront of the energy revolution. Now recognized as a totally viable source of energy across the globe, solar panels are big business. Whether powering huge industrial buildings or a humble two-up two-down residential property, solar panels take power directly from the sun to eliminate the need for the sourcing of energy from non-renewable sources. We all know that solar energy is a great solution to our energy needs going forward, but there are plenty of things most of us don't know about this wonderful source of energy.

Solar Panel Price Drop

Although solar panels are becoming more popular, they still only make up a fraction of the generated energy in the world, with most energy still being sourced from fossil fuels. Thankfully, the price of having solar panels fitted has dropped dramatically over the last few years, so we can expect the trend to change dramatically in the future. In many European countries, including Britain, energy created from the use of solar panels can be sold back to the national grid. This, of course, means that owners of panels can earn an income from their panels, while generating free energy for themselves.

Solar Power

Solar panels have huge power. If the Sahara Desert were completely covered in solar panels, this dry, hot, and particularly sunny part of the world would generate enough energy to power everything in the whole world for 30 years! Just a kilowatt of solar energy also allows you to effectively avoid creating 300lbs of carbon through the use of normal energy sources. Carbon is the element which is said to cause the greenhouse effect. Energy experts have also surmised that if everyone the world over changed to using solar power, enough power would be created to fuel the world 5,000 times.

Creative Energy

Leonardo da Vinci is credited as being the first person to harness the power of the sun to effectively create solar panels. He successfully boiled water by reflecting rays of sunshine against concave mirrors. More recently, photovoltaic technology was first developed in America, but surprisingly, their limited use of the energy source accounts for just 6% of the world's solar energy use. Surprisingly, Germany, with a fairly poor sunshine record, is known for being the largest producer of solar energy in the world.

Solar Effective

Solar power is the most effective form of energy in terms of actual yield, creating more than both fossil fuel and nuclear power. This is, of course, a massively important fact, and one that should persuade us all that it's an extremely good and responsible idea to investigate the possibility of using solar power if it's at all possible for us to do so. The cost of having solar panels is still high, but most people find that they make their money back in the long run. When you consider that solar power is the best thing for the environment and the best thing for your pocket, it should only be a matter of time before everyone is changing.