History of Solar Energy Who Invented Solar Panels – Atlantic Key Energy

With more and more people going solar every year, the future of solar energy looks bright. But do you happen to know anything about its past? Who do we thank for the eco-friendliest invention providing our homes with electricity? Let’s dive into the history of solar energy: who invented solar panels?

Who Came up With Solar Power?

Does solar power seem to you like a modern invention? Not that it isn’t innovative, but it may be older than you might have realized. Even people living in the 7th century B.C. knew how to use it. They combined the heat coming from the sun with a magnifying glass to get the fire needed for cooking.

But the history of solar panels dates back to 19th-century France. It starts with physicist Edmond Becquerel and his discovery of the photovoltaic effect.

So, what is the photovoltaic effect, you ask? That’s a fancy word for the creation of voltage and electricity by the material exposed to light. In other words, it’s the basic principle upon which all solar panels work. This discovery slowly made many other scientists curious about its effects.

Soon enough, they started using it to make their own solar-powered patents. The first among them was the work of French mathematician Augustin Mouchot. In the 1860s, he registered his engines that produced solar power. By 1888, there were a couple of other similar machines all over the world.

When Was the First Solar Cell Invented?

You already know that solar panels are made up of tiny units called solar cells. In 1888, Russian scientist Aleksandr Stoletov invented the first photoelectric solar cell. This photoelectric effect is closely related to the photovoltaic effect. And the first person to observe it was German physicist Heinrich Hertz.