Solar Sam's® Innovations

His real name is Clyde Weihe, though today he's still commonly known by his boyhood nickname, Sam. He grew up in a coal mining town in Pennsylvania and had always assumed that energy had to be dug out of the ground. But, Sam’s attitude has since changed. Many years later Sam was dubbed "Solar Sam" by his wife Kate when he first took on his mission to educate people on the benefits of solar energy. An inventor and gadgeteer from Needham Massachusetts, he has been fostering solar awareness in the young and young at heart for over ten years now.

It all started shortly after Sam retired at age 75 when one of Sam’s daughters enthusiastically introduced him to solar energy. Being a gadgeteer, Sam quickly purchased a few 12-volt solar panels and thought of an application he could test. 

In Sam’s own words “Gee I thought, this panel is 12-volt DC current, and I have a little pump in the cellar that's 12-volt DC. I wondered if this would possibly go directly from the sun to that pump. Well, when that water shot eight feet in the air, my heart jumped eight feet along with it. From that moment on, I've been seeing how many uses I can find for solar energy.” Since that first exciting experience Sam has created a vision to inspire a new generation of inventors of solar powered products and helps maintain that vision by sharing his wide-eyed enthusiasm with children of all ages.

Sam’s vision is further supported with the creation of the Solar Explorer, his version of a solar powered car. Sam and his wife Kate had created this solar science kit to help Sam teach about solar electricity to kids. Many nights were spent at their kitchen table assembling and doing 100% testing of the original kits Sam would eventually take with him to school demonstrations. The Solar Explorer was the first creation satisfying Sam’s vision to design products that are “Educational, Recreational, and Inspirational”. His other solar inventions have ranged from solar powered wheelchairs, paddle boats and go-carts, to common children's toys he converted to run on solar electricity. More recently Sam has added wind and other forms of energy generation to his areas of exploration and teaching.

Today, Sam is busy forming a team of other enthusiasts, including engineers, designers and educators, who share his vision and are just as anxious as he is to bring solar discovery, to the home and the classroom. That was how Solar Sam's® Innovations and SolarSam.com were born.