The solar energy or solar power as a source of electricity has already been in existence many centuries ago.  Travellers during the early ages gather solared energy from the sun and the energy was locked up in some kind of a box, which they used as their electricity source to cook their food.

A lot of people are also using it, but they don’t really know that its solar energy that’s providing them electricity or light source.

Solar power is basically derived from the heat and light energy of the rays of the sun and they can be very useful at home or in any other places.  Many scientists have revealed that the sun’s energy is not being maximized since only a very small portion of it is utilized by the entire humanity.

There are actually a lot of reasons to this observation.  One is that many parts of Earth are seldom hit by the rays of the sun, and so there’s really no way they can accumulate solar energy for their electricity needs. 

Another reason is that the majority of the people from third world countries cannot afford to buy solar panels and they think that artificial electricity is still much cheaper.

One of the several ways to accumulate solar energy is through the photovoltaic panels.  These photovoltaic panels are capable of storing energy from the sun and converting it to electricity.  This belongs under the active solar method.  They are mostly used in portable devices like watches and calculators.

If there is an active solar method, there must also be a passive solar method.  This passive solar method is another way of accumulating solar energy.  The difference with the former method is that the solar energy gathered from the sun is not converted into electricity.  One popular example is heating up water using the heat of the sun.

You may not be aware, but you actually are also consuming solar power in your home.  Allowing the rays of the sun to enter and give light to your home is the simplest illustration of solar power.  The use of solar heaters is also another benefit that we get from solar power.

The most popular among all solar power devices are the solar panels.  This is another example of an active solar method that many people are already using these days.  This solar-powered device can bring electricity to your home free of charge.  However, this has a few disadvantages and one is that this cannot be used all year round as there are times when the sun is often hiding behind the clouds.