The First Solar Panel Invented

In a way many physicists played a part in solar cell invention.

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. In 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. Therefore the credit for the invention of the modern solar panel cannot go to a single individual entity.

According to encyclopedia britannica the first genuine solar cell was built around 1883 by charles fritts who used junctions formed by coating selenium a semiconductor with an extremely thin layer of gold. When and more importantly who invented solar panels is a complex question. It all started in 1839 with 19 year old physicist named edmond becquerel. Almost 50 years after the photovoltaic effect s discovery in 1883 american inventor charles fritz created the first working selenium solar cell.

Therefore some consider the true invention of solar panels to be tied to daryl chapin calvin fuller and gerald pearson s creation of the silicon photovoltaic pv cell at bell labs in 1954. Invention of the solar cell. In 1880 charles fritts used gold plated selenium to produce the first solar cell which also had an efficiency of 1. He understood the benefits of solar energy predicting that solar panels would soon replace existing power stations.

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. Russell ohl silicon solar cell early solar cells however had energy conversion efficiencies of under one percent. Solar power before solar panels. The first working solar panels.

Who invented solar panels. While we can pinpoint the major steps. In 1883 american inventor charles fritz created the first working selenium solar cell. 3 though we use silicon in cells for modern solar panels this solar cell was a major precursor to the technology used today.

However fritts thought that his solar cells were revolutionary. In 1888 a scientist from russia named aleksandr stoletov built and patented the first true solar cell.