The use of solar power is growing all the time throughout the world. This is despite it being a relatively new technology. It wasn't until 1941 that the modern photovoltaic cells that we know today were commercially produced. However, the use of solar power goes back far further than that.
Early Solar Power
It was the Romans who first used solar power. They used the rays of the sun to heat water that was then passed through the house either to be used for washing or as a rudimentary form of heating. The French physicist Antoine Becquerel discovered the photovoltaic effect in the 1880s. By 1907 the first photovoltaic cells were available for purchase. However, it took until 1941 for those cells to be assembled into a panel that could produce electric.
The History of Solar Power in the UK
In the UK solar power has only recently become viable. Prior to the 1990s, installing solar power was very much restricted to hippies and those homeowners who were not able to connect to the National Grid.
Part of the problem was perception. People simply did not believe that you could use the power of the sun to generate electricity as far north as the UK. To some extent this was true however new technology developed over the past 15 years has definitely put pay to that problem. It is now possible to install and use solar power as far north as Scotland provided you choose the correct panels.
The other problem solar panels had was that they cost an awful lot to buy and install. Fortunately, the cost of solar panels has gone down in relative terms. At the same time their ability to produce sustainable amounts of power has gone up. This coupled with government schemes, such as the current feed in tariff scheme, means that over the lifetime of the solar panel homeowners and business owners get back what they paid for them and more. The future of solar power in the UK looks bright and demand is expected to continue to grow all be it slightly more gradually than the past year because of the changes to the feed in tariff scheme.
For further information about Solar Power and to find solar pv installers in London, check out this website.