Uses of Solar Energy

Uses of Solar Energy

Ever since the dawn of time, the sun has been a resource we cannot live

or do without, so its not such a shock that man has come up with the

idea of solar energy. Solar energy had many uses. Some can be dangerous and

some, a very valuable asset to the modern world.

Solar energy is energy derived from the sun in a form of ultra-violet rays.

Its was first applied to use in 212 B.C., by the Greek genius Archimedes. Solar

energy was used to defend the habor of Syracuse against the Roman fleet.

Archimedes used a mirror or “burning mirror” as they had called it, to set fire to

the ships of the Roman fleets while standing on shore (McDaniels 83). It wasn’t

until 1615 when Salomon de Caux constructed the first solar device; a solar

engine. His device was made of glass lenses, supporting frame, and an airtight

metal vessel containing water and air. This produced a small water fountain when

the air heated up during operation. This was considered to be more of a toy than

a device, but it was the first published account of the use of solar energy since the

fall of the Roman Empire (Cheremisinoff 1).

Some other use of solar energy after that was the solar roof and the solar

oven. The solar roof was thought up by Harold Hay. In a solar roof system, water

is contained in a clear plastic bag and it is placed on a black metal roof. Hay got

the idea while traveling in India on a technical aid mission for the U.S government.

While there, he noticed that many people were living in rusty, sheet metal shacks,

which were hot in the day and cold at night. Hay’s plan was to remove the

insulation from the roof on winter days so that the roof would get hot, and

Replacing the insulation at night to allow the shack to be warm through the night.

Then in the summer, he would so the reverse of what he did in winter to let the

house cool at night and replacing the insulation in the daytime to block out the