Solar Energy Panels: A Bit Of History
Solar energy panels are a fantastic invention, perhaps one of the most significant in terms of protecting the earth’s environment. These panels, sometimes called solar power collectors, are used to grab and store the rays of the sun to be used as energy for just about any need. These can be used for powering your vehicle to providing your home with the energy it needs to keep up with all those big screen TVs, high powered gaming consoles, computers and even your heat. Using these solar energy panels is rather easy to do, and many people have found that they are one of the best sources of free energy out there.
Some solar power panels sit on top of rooftops and collect the sun’s rays then use them for space heating, for cooling or even for water heating. These large boxes are black and covered with glass, to attract the sunlight. In the 1980’s, solar power panels become very popular. It was a time when energy prices were very high and people were looking for virtually any way to reduce costs. It is estimated that in 1984, some 16 million square feet of these panels were sold in the United States alone.
This trend did not last long, though. Fossil fuel prices fell drastically in the middle 1980’s. On top of that, the tax credits that the government gave to people who bought solar power panels in the beginning part of the decade had expired, making the panels more costly to buy. Today, there is an estimated 1.5 million homes and businesses in the United States using these collectors. That is still a very low number in comparison to other controls. For example in Israel, all new homes and apartments must be built using solar power to heat water. In Cyprus, a city that is undergone intensive development, 92 percent of the homes there already are using solar power.
You can get in on the game too. In most cases, solar power panels are anything but a game. Because they are available and because of what they provide (clean energy that costs nothing to obtain) they are again growing in popularity. New models are more efficient and can do more than just heat or cool water.
Solar energy panels are a great investment, especially when you buy solar energy panels that are designed for top efficiency. You will find that this type of energy use is a fantastic way of protecting the environment, another very important consideration for anyone looking for ways to be more eco friendly.