Horace Bénédicte de Saussure was a Swiss physicist, geologist and naturalist, born in Geneva, who is considered one of the founders of mountaineering. In 1767, he experimented with solar energy by creating a glass heat trap in the form of a miniature greenhouse, also called a “hot box”. He used it as a measuring instrument to study the calorific effects of the sun’s rays, which he called a “heliothermometer”. He declared, “one day, some usefulness might be derived from this apparatus… for it is in fact quite small, inexpensive, and easy to manufacture”. His modest hope was more than fulfilled: the “heliothermometer” became the prototype for the solar collectors of the late 19th and 20th centuries, collectors capable of providing hot water, heating for homes and electricity for machinery.
