During the early days, solar power was used mainly to produce steam for drive machinery. Henri Becquerel discovered the photovoltaic effect that allowed the conversion of solar electric energy. Becquerel's discovery triggered the invention of the first true solar cell by Charles Fritts in 1893, which was created by coating selenium sheets with a thin gold layer. You can purchase this for only $10 at a car parts store. The device will be good for powering DC appliances like lights, hair dryers and vacuum cleaners. If you intend to power AC appliances, you will need an inverter. The inverter converts the stored DC power in the battery right into AC power for majority of household appliances. The Applications Solar power can give several applications for businesses, homeowners and companies. Present solar power plants are not yet very rampant, but experts see a growing population as the technology and supply for energy supply that is both clean and safe becomes more available. Energy systems are now widely available to help utility companies provide power to offices and homes. The Solar Vehicle A solar vehicle is defined as an electric vehicle that is powered mainly by solar energy. The energy is acquired from solar panels on the surface or the top of the vehicle. PV or photovoltaic cells change the energy of the sun straight into electrical energy. Solar cars are not used as day-to-day transportation devices currently. The home has to be insulated to reduce loss of heat. Passive cooling is a kind of solar cooling. The main idea behind passive cooling is to reduce the impact of the sun by orienting the landscape and the house so that you get the most benefits out of cool breezes. The home also has to be designed to reduce barriers to air paths through the home to let natural ventilation in. More Solar Power Terrestrial solar power is a predictable and intermittent source of energy, which means even though solar power is not readily available all the time, people can still predict it using a certain degree of accuracy when the energy source will or will not be available. A number of technologies, like the solar thermal concentrators, include an element of thermal storage, such as molten salts.