The First Solar Panel Invented

Solar power before solar panels.

The first solar panel invented.

Courtesy of john perlin take a light step back to 1883 when new york inventor charles fritts created the first. The first space application of solar panels came in 1958 when the vanguard i satellite was launched. 3 though we use silicon in cells for modern solar panels this solar cell was a major precursor to the technology used today. Both were installed during obama s first term.

In 1954 the three american researchers gerald pearson calvin fuller and daryl chapin were able to create a solar panel that could the had the efficiency level of 6 with direct sunlight. Connecting cells in parallel yields a higher current. Charles fritts an american inventor described the first solar cells made from selenium wafers. 1891 baltimore inventor clarence kemp patented the first commercial solar water heater.

As the sun s been around much longer than solar panel technology it stands to reason that humans historically found a way to use the sun s heat. 1887 heinrich hertz discovered that ultraviolet light altered the lowest voltage ca pable of causing a spark to jump between two metal electrodes. Today let s look at the history of the solar panel to see if we can find out when and by who solar panels were truly first invented. Further satellites such as vanguard ii sputnik 3 and the explorer iii also used solar panels.

Cost of solar over time prices for solar panels have dropped substantially over the past few decades leading to a surge in consumer demand that has produced more than one million u s. Russell ohl was the first inventor who created the silicon solar cell in 1941. The first public service trial of the bell solar battery began with a telephone carrier system americus georgia on october 4 1955. Bell laboratories in new york announced the prototype manufacture of a new solar battery.

Installations as of early 2016. Multiple solar cells in an integrated group all oriented in one plane constitute a solar photovoltaic panel or module photovoltaic modules often have a sheet of glass on the sun facing side allowing light to pass while protecting the semiconductor wafers solar cells are usually connected in series creating additive voltage and current. Bell had funded the research. Although it had only a 1 watt cell used to power its radio this was the beginning.

They created the first solar panels. Almost 50 years after the photovoltaic effect s discovery in 1883 american inventor charles fritz created the first working selenium solar cell. 1959 hoffman electronics creates a 10 efficient commercial solar cell and introduces the use of a grid contact reducing the cell s resistance. Vanguard i the first solar powered satellite was launched with a 0 1w 100 cm solar panel.