Glossary of Solar Terminology
A
- Alternating Current (AC)
- The flow of electricity that constantly changes direction from positive and negative sides.
- Amorphous Silicon
- A thin film, silicon photovotalic cell with no crystalline structure.
- Array
- A systematic arrangement usually in rows and columns.
- Average Demand
- The number of kilowatt hours used in a 24 hour period, divided by 24 hours equals the average demand for that building based on that time period.
B
- Battery
- Used to store energy not being used immediately so that it is available for a later time.
C
- Circuit
- One or more conductors through which electricity flows.
- Conductor
- A material allowing the flow of electric current.
- Converter
- Changes the quantity and quality of electrical energy.
- Crystalline Silicon
- Also called wafer silicon, a material consisting of small silicon crystals.
- Current
- The rate at which electricity flows.
- Customer Load
- This is the amount of power your home or building is using.
D
- Demand
- This is measured in kilowatts and is the amount of energy given to the end user at a specific point and time.
- Direct Current (DC)
- The flow of electricity that is constant in one direction.
E
- Electrical Grid
- A interconnected network for delivering electricity from suppliers to consumers.
G
- Grid Tie Solar Power System
- Also known as on grid or grid connected—in a grid connected power system the grid acts like a battery with unlimited storage capacity. This type of system generates electricity for your home or business and will route the excess power into the electric utility grid and may be sold back to the utility company.
H
- Hertz
- A unit of frequency, it is the number of complete cycles per second.
I
- Inverter
- Made to change the direct current (DC) electricity from photovoltaic into alternating current (AC) in the home or utility grid.
J
- Junction Box
- This is a container that houses electrical connections for circuit protection.
K
- Kilogram (KG)
- Base unit of mass often referred to as an objects weight.
- Kilowatt (KW)
- A unit of energy, equal to 1,000 being used in one hour.
- Kolometer (KM)
- Unit of length in the metric system.
M
- Megawatt (MV)
- This is equal to one million watts and is used to measure rate of energy conservation.
- Module
- A design of a system in separate parts.
- Mounting Equipment
- Use of aluminum or steel components combined with solar mount rails to create a durable structure to hold the solar panels in place. There are several types of mount systems depending on your roof style.
N
- Net Metering
- Serves as an important incentive for consumers, it allows for the flow of electricity to and from the customer usually through a single biometrical meter.
O
- Off grid solar system
- You are your own electric company. This system is for people who plan to run their home based on the energy they store from the sun energy through their solar panels. On sunny days you will store electricity in batteries to use later. The inverter converts DC energy from the solar panels and batteries into AC electricity.
P
- Peak Sun Hours
- The equivalent hours per day when the sun is at its highest level which usually occurs between 10:00am until 4:00pm.
- Photon
- A unit of light energy or a tiny partical of light.
- Photovoltaic (PV)
- An arrangement of cells containing a material that converts solar radiation into direct current electricity.
- Pollycrystalline Silicon
- Material used to make photovoltaic cells which are the semiconductor elements in a module to create the conversion of light into electrical energy.
S
- Solar Energy
- Light and heat that are radiated from the sun.
- Solar Panel
- Usually constructed with crystalline silicon, they are a form of active solar power that captures sunlight and converts it into electricity.
- Solar power
- Power collected by harnessing the energy of the sun’s rays.
- Stand-Alone System
- Everything is completely together, they are not connected to a electrical utility.
V
- Volt (V)
- The amount of force it takes to drive a steady current of one ampere through a resistant one ohm. Most of our homes and businesses use 120 volts.
W
- Watt (W)
- Electric measurement of power.
