The idea of heating your home with the sun is hardly new. Since the dawn of humankind the sun has been used to provide needed warmth. But modern technology has completely transformed the way that can be done, even from the methods used a few generations ago.

The cost of a solar system to power or heat your home can run anywhere from a few thousand dollars to $50,000 or more. The wide range of investment required is the result of many factors.

Using solar cell arrays to produce electricity is a now-familiar application. Most applications that use PV (photovoltaic) modules are still small scale, except for certain experimental stations trying to generate power at the level of utility companies. Still, everything from lawn lights to full power supply systems for homes are available.

The image of a large, dark-blue panel atop a rooftop supplying solar-powered electricity is now familiar. Though relatively few homes have them, thousands of magazine stories have been written over the past 30 years accompanied by photos depicting them. Because of their relative rarity, such systems have become regarded as 'the wave of the future', with that future always just out of reach. The sticking points are always cost and efficiency.

When most people think of solar power they imagine large, dark blue panels supplying electricity to a home or business. And that's certainly one very popular application. But there are other ways to harness the energy of the sun. Solar heating is one, and its roots actually go much further back than the use of photovoltaic arrays.

Human use of the sun's energy may seem like a recent phenomenon. But, in fact, solar energy has been in use in various forms for thousands of years.

Apart from the obvious fact that the sun provides the energy for plants to grow that feed us, there are more technological uses that go back millennia.

To implement solar power to heat and power your home requires a number of relatively expensive items. But those items can be cost effective over the long run. Still, going solar the right way requires the right technology and some planning.

One of the hurdles any homeowner considering solar generated power has always faced is the high upfront cost. Powering the average home using the sun's energy requires fairly large solar panels. Most panel systems cover most of the south facing roof of the house. But the cost of the panels alone can easily be around $10,000-$16,000. Add batteries, installation and related costs and you are looking at an initial investment of anywhere from $32,000 to about $50,000.

Though the claims of enthusiasts are sometimes overstated, it's still true that solar power and alternative energy forms are viable and valuable. They're low-pollution generating, even accounting for manufacturing effects to make the components. They are, in principle, inexhaustible sources of energy. And, those forms of energy don't require looking to unstable countries to supply raw material.

Using the energy from the sun to generate electricity gets a lot of press. But there are many other applications for solar power. One of the most important is for treating water.

Basically, solar power is energy that is actually harnessed from the sun Although the sun is millions of miles away from earth, if we had the ability to harness all the energy coming from the sun, there is more than enough power there to provide all the energy we need for the entire earth

Solar power in some form has been around for millions of years. Even the earliest humans benefited from the sun, since it makes plants grow and animals thrive. Early man soon learned to direct the sun to provide warmth. It wasn't long before someone figured out how to use it to start a fire.

The standard solar power system used to provide electricity today consists chiefly of two components: PV (photovoltaic) panels and a storage system. The PV (photovoltaic) panels generate the electricity. A storage system stores any excess for later use when there isn't enough sunlight to power all your needs.

Solar power technology has been around in some form or another for thousands of years. Even many modern solar device designs are now decades old. Yet, they have not fulfilled the promise that many hoped. Why? Two reasons: efficiency and cost.

Solar power, particularly when it's used to provide home electricity needs, may seem like a relatively recent invention. And it's true that large, cost-effective panels that form the core of most systems have only been in use for about that past 30 years. But the underlying method they employ goes back to 1839, when it was discovered by Becquerel. He found that shining sunlight on an electrolytic cell would produce a current.