With exploding energy prices, solar energy has never made more sense. So, what is solar energy?

What Is Solar Energy

Solar energy is simply energy produced by capturing energy produced by the sun and converting it into a usable energy source. Ironically, the first step in producing solar energy is a nuclear reaction. Yep, the sun is one giant nuclear plant, producing an intense amount of energy that creates life on our planet. Looking to plants, we’ve learned this solar power can be used to produce functional power for our homes, businesses, and other needs.

Of course, the biggest users of solar energy on our planet are plants. Although each plant is different, they convert sunlight into energy with about three percent efficiency. This may sound like low number, but the earth receives more energy from the sun in one day than we collectively use in one year. If plants were more efficient, we would have some seriously large plants!

Solar energy has been used indirectly by mankind since we first came to be. The first to harness it as a power, however, was William Adams in 1876. Adams made the big breakthrough when he created a selenium solar cell. Essentially, he discovered if he flashed light on it, the cell would produce an electric current. The problem, of course, was the technology at the time made it extremely expensive to do so.

Flash forward eighty years or so and we meet David Chaplin and the boys at Bell Labs. In the early 1950’s, Bell Labs was trying to figure out how to power remote communications systems. Chaplin and two others discovered that silicon power cells were much more efficient than selenium. By the late 1950’s, NASA was using the cells to power satellites and other things sent into space and continues to do so today.

With further improvements over the years, solar energy has become both an interesting and economically viable alternative energy source. Beginning in the late 1980’s, the cost of producing solar power on residences and buildings started to make serious sense. As the 1990’s rolled along, states started to force utilities to buy power from residential solar systems, and the solar energy rush was on.

What Is Solar Energy – The Details

As mentioned above, solar energy is simply the conversion of sunlight into usable energy. This is done using a solar panel system. The system is full of photovoltaic panels, which contain silicone and other materials. When the sun strikes the panels, electrons in the silicon start buzzing and producing a magnetic current. Small wires pick up this direct electronic current and send it to an inverter.

Energy systems use AC electricity, not the DC energy produced by solar panels. The inverters convert the “raw” electricity in DC energy. The energy is then stored in a lithium battery for late use in the home. In 35 states, the energy can actually be fed back into the grid system of the local utility. This results in one’s power meter running backward, which eliminates monthly utility bills.


Solar energy systems are far more efficient than plants, but still have much room for improvement. Solar panels will convert the sunlight into energy with 15 percent efficiency. The inverter will convert the direct current energy into AC electricity at roughly 95 percent efficiency. As time passes, solar energy systems will continue to become more and more efficient.

What is solar energy? Solar energy is clean fuel that lets us reduce our dependency on dirty fuel such as oil and coal. Undoubtedly, it is the wave of the future when it comes to energy.