Innovative Solar Systems, LLC 1095 Hendersonville Rd. Asheville,
NC 28803 The energy generated by the sun is quite a miracle in
and of itself. The energy created in one minute by the sun could
supply the energy needs of the entire world for a year.
Renewable solar energy is a free and clean source of energy, but
the art of harnessing it is fairly recent. It may not be as
recent as many believe however. As far back as 1767 the first
solar collector was built and used to heat food and water, which
represented the first solar energy system. Still, in the history
of energy, the idea of harnessing the sun’s energy for practical
use is relatively new. In the 1800s it was discovered that it
was possible to actually convert the sun’s energy to electricity
with selenium photovoltaic cells, known also as PV cells. Large
panels consisting of thousands of PV cells harness the sun’s
energy, which is then sent first to charge the batteries in a
system that uses a battery backup. Next, once the batteries are
charged, the en