Solar Energy Glossary

Solar Energy Glossary of Photovoltaic Terms

– A – B – C – D – E – F – G – H – I – J – K – L – M – N – O – P – Q – R – S – T – U – V – W – X – Y – Z –

 

III-V cell

 

A -----

Absorber

Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM)

AC

AC coupling

AC Module

Аcceptor

Activated shelf life

Activation voltage(s)

Active solar heater

Adjustable set point

AGL Energy

AIC

Air mass (Sometimes called Air mass ratio)

Albedo

Alternating current (AC)

Alternative energy

Ambient temperature

Ammeter

Amorphous photovoltaic

Amorphous semiconductor

Amorphous silicon

Amorphous solar cell

Amortisation

Amperage interrupt capability (AIC)

Ampere (amp)

Ampere-hour (Ah/AH)

Ampere hour meter

Ancillary services

Angle of incidence

Angle of Inclination

Annual solar savings

Anode

Antireflection coating

Anthropogenic

Array

Array current

Array operating voltage

Atom

ATP (adenosine triphosphate)

Australian Standards

Autonomous system

Autotroph

Availability

Avoided cost

AWG

Azimuth angle

B -----

Backup

Backside ventilation

Becquerel

Balance of system

Balancing area

Band gap

Band gap energy (Eg)

Barrier energy

Base load

Baseload capacity

Base load generating plants

Baseline performance value

Battery

Battery available capacity

Battery capacity

Battery case

Battery cell

Battery cycle life

Battery enclosure

Battery energy capacity

Battery energy storage

Battery inverter

Battery life

Battery management system (BMS)

Bayonet fitting

Biomass

Bimodal PV (photovoltaic) system

Bird poo

BIPV

Blocking diode

Boron (B)

Boule

British thermal unit (Btu)

Brightness

Building integrated photovoltaics

Built-In Voltage

Btu (British Thermal Unit)

BVES

Bypass diode

C -----

Cabling

Cadmium (Cd)

Cadmium telluride (CdTe)

Calendar fade

Calendar life

Capacity (C)

Capacity factor

Capillary action (or capillarity)

Captive electrolyte battery

Carbon cycle

Carbon dioxide (CO2)

Carbon dioxide equivalent

Carbon footprint

Carbon price

Cash flow (modeling)

Cathode

Cathodic protection

Cd

CdTe

Cell (battery)

Cell barrier

Cell junction

Cell string

Central inverter

Charge

Charge carrier

Charge controller

Charge factor

Charge rate

Charging

Chemical energy

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD)

Circuit

Cleavage of lateral epitaxial films for transfer (CLEFT)

Climate change

Cloud enhancement

Clouding

Combined collector

Components

Concentrating photovoltaics (CPV)

Concentrating solar power (CSP)

Concentrator

Conduction band (or conduction level)

Conductor

Conductance

Construction Height Limitation

Contact resistance

Contingency reserves

Conversion Area

Conversion efficiency

Converter

Copper indium diselenide (CuInSe2, or CIS)

Copper zinc tin sulfide/selenide (CZTS)

Cost-effective

Cost of money

Coulomb

CO2 Emissions

CPUC

Critical load (CL)

Crystalline modules (c-Si)

Crystalline silicon

C-rate

Current

Current at maximum power (Imp)

Current-voltage (I-V) curve

Cut off voltage

Cut in

Cycle

Czochralski process

D -----

Damp-Heat

Dangling bonds

Datasheet

Data logger

Days of storage

DC

DC-to-DC converter

DC coupling

DC optimiser

Deep-cycle battery

Deep discharge

Dielectric

Defect

Degradation

Degree of Effectiveness

Demand response

Depth of discharge (DOD)

Dendrite

Dendritic web technique

Depletion zone

Design month

Diffuse insolation

Diffuse radiation

Diffusion furnace

Diffusion length

Diode

DIN ISO 50001

DIN SPEC 91020

Direct beam radiation

Direct current (DC)

Direct-coupled PV system

Direct insolation

Direct radiation

Discharge

Discharge factor

Discharge rate

Discount rate

Disconnect

Dispatching (economic dispatch)

Distributed energy resources (DER)

Distributed generation

DNSP

Distribution board

Distributed power

Distributed systems

Diurnal cycle

Diversity of generation

DOD

Donor

Donor level

Dopant

Doping

Downtime

Dry cell

Dual metering

Duty cycle

Duty rating

E -----

East facing

Edge-defined film-fed growth (EFG)

Edison screw

EEG

Efficiency

Earth

Electric circuit

Electric current

Electric Field

Electrical energy

Electrical grid

Electricity

Electric Vehicles (EV)

Electrochemical cell

Electrode

Electrodeposition

Electrolyte

Electrolyzer

Electromagnetic radiation

Electromotive force (emf)

Electron

Electron hole pair

Embodied energy

Emissions

Electron volt (eV)

Energy

Energy audit

Energy contribution potential

Energy conversion

Energy costs

Energy density

Energy distributor

Energy efficient

Energy flows

Energy imbalance service

Energy levels

Energy management relays

Energy payback time

Energy performance indicators (EnPIs)

Energy storage system (ESS)

Energy retailer

Energy storage

Energy tax

Energy turnaround

EPC

Epitaxial growth

ERCOT

Equalization

Equalization charge

Equalizing charge

Equinox

ESOI

Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA)

EVA

Exciton

External quantum efficiency (external QE or EQE)

Extrinsic semiconductor

F -----

Feed-In

Feed-In point

Feed-In remuneration

Feed-in-tariff

Fermi level

Fill factor

Fixed mounting

Fixed tilt array

Flat-plate array

Flat-Plate Collector

Flat-plate module

Flat-plate photovoltaics (PV)

Float charge

Float life

Float service

Float-zone process

Fossil Fuels

Frameless panels

Free electrons

Frequency

Frequency regulation

Fresnel lens

Fuel cell

Full sun

G -----

Ga

GaAs

Gallium (Ga)

Gallium arsenide (GaAs)

Gassing

Gassing current

Generation

Generator

Geothermal

German Statutory Accident Insurance Inspection

Gel-type battery

Gigawatt (GW)

Gigawatt-Hour (gWh)

Global radiation

Global warming

Glucose

Greenhouse effect

Greenhouse gas

Grid

Grid-connected system

Grid-interactive system

Grid-Tied Inverter

Grid lines

Grid-Parallel Operation

Grid stabilisation

Ground loop

Gross-metering

Ground-mounted solar

H -----

Harmonic content

HELOC

Hermetic Seal

Heterojunction

High voltage disconnect

High voltage disconnect hysteresis

HOA

Hole

Homojunction

Hot spot

Humidity Freeze

Hybrid system

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon

I -----

IEC 61701

Illuminance

Impedance (electrical)

Impedance matching

Incident light

Incident Power

Independent system operator (ISO)

Indium oxide

Infrared radiation

Ingot

Input voltage

Insolation

Interconnect

Interconnection

Interconnection agreement

Internal quantum efficiency (internal QE or IQE)

Internal resistance

Intrinsic layer

Intrinsic semiconductor

Integrator

Inverse square law

Inverted metamorphic multijunction (IMM) cell

Inverter

Investment

Investment Tax Credit (ITC)

Installation optimisation

Installation valuation

Islanding

Island system

Isolating transformer

Ion

IPSec encryption

IRR

Irradiance

Irradiation strength

ISPRA guidelines

I-type semiconductor

I-V curve

I-V data

J -----

Joule

Junction

Junction box

Junction diode

K -----

Kerf

Kilowatt (kW)

Kilowatt-hour (kWh)

KWp

L -----

Langley (L)

Lattice

Lead-acid battery

Levelized cost of energy (LCOE)

Light Induced Degradation (LID)

Life

Life-cycle cost

Light-induced defects

Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4)

Light trapping

Lightning protection

Linear regression

Line-commutated inverter

Liquid electrolyte battery

Load

Load circuit

Load current (A)

Load forecast

Load profile analysis

Load resistance

Locational marginal price (LMP)

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

Low voltage cutoff (LVC)

Low voltage disconnect

Low voltage disconnect hysteresis

Low voltage warning

M -----

Maintenance

Maintenance-free battery

Majority carrier

Maximum power point (MPP)

Maximum power point tracker (MPPT)

Maximum power tracking

Measurement and characterization

Megajoule (MJ)

Megawatt (MW)

Megawatt-hour

Meter

Metrology

Micro-inverter

Microgroove

Micrometer (micron)

Minority carrier

Minority carrier lifetime

Modified sine wave

Modularity

Module

Module efficiency

Module derate factor

Monitoring system

Monocrystalline silicon

Monolithic

Mounting hardware

Movistor

Multimode inverter

Multicrystalline

Multijunction device

Multimeter

Multi-stage controller

N -----

NADPH

Nanometer

Nanoparticle

Nanotechnology

National Electrical Code (NEC)

National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA)

NEC

NEMA

Net Energy Metering (NEM)

Net metering

Net Zero

NMC

Nickel cadmium battery

NOCT

Nominal capacity

Nominal power

Nominal voltage

Nonpolar

Normal operating cell temperature (NOCT)

North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP)

N-type

N-type semiconductor

N-type silicon

Nuclear fission

Nuclear reactions

O -----

OCPD

Ohm

Off-the-grid (Off-Grid)

On grid solar system

One-axis tracking

Open-circuit voltage (Voc)

Open-Space Installation

Operating point

Operations and maintenance (O&M)

Orientation

Origin Energy

Outgas

Output

Overcharge

Own Consumption

Oxidation-reduction reaction (also redox reaction)

P -----

PACE Loan

Packing factor

Panel

Panelboard

Panel mismatch

Parallel connection

Parity

Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E )

Passivation

Passive solar home

Peak Current Capping

Peak demand/load

Peak load coverage

Peak power current

Peak power point

Peak power tracking

Peak sun hours

Peak watt

Peer to Peer Energy Trading

Performance ratio

Perovskite solar cell

PersCert TÜV

Phosphorus (P)

Photocurrent

Photoelectric cell

Photoelectric effect

Photoelectrochemical cell

Photoelectron

Photon

Photosynthesis

Photovoltaic(s) (PV)

Photovoltaic (PV) array

Photovoltaic (PV) cell

Photovoltaic (PV) conversion efficiency

Photovoltaic (PV) device

Photovoltaic (PV) effect

Photovoltaic (PV) generator

Photovoltaic installation

Photovoltaic (PV) module

Photovoltaic (PV) panel

Photovoltaic (PV) peak watt

Photovoltaic (PV) system

Photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) system

Physical vapor deposition

P-I-N

Picometer

PID Effect

Plates

Plug-and-play PV system

P/N

P-n junction

Pocket plate

Point-contact cell

Polar

Polycrystalline

Polycrystalline panels

Polycrystalline silicon

Polycrystalline thin film

Polymer

Polysilicon (multicrystalline silicon)

Potential-Induced Performance Degradation (PID)

Potential of PV

Power

Power conditioning

Power conditioning equipment

Power conversion efficiency

Power density

Power Dissipated in Resistor

Power factor (PF)

Power Lines

Power (Electricity) Meters

Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)

Primary battery

Projected area

Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE)

Prototype

Protrusion

P-Type Silicon

P-type semiconductor

Pulse-width-modulated (PWM) wave inverter

PV

PV Installation

PV array

Pyranometer

Pyrheliometer

Q -----

Quad

Qualification test

Quantum efficiency (QE)

Quartzite

Quick charging

R -----

Racking

Ramp

Ramp rate

Range of application of photovoltaic

Rankine cycle

Rated battery capacity

Rated module current (A)

Rated Output

Rated power

R-value

Reactive power

Recombination

Rectifier

Reflection loss

Regulator

Remote systems

Remote monitoring

Renewable energy

Renewable Energy Credits (RECs)

Renewable portfolio standard (RPS)

Repowering

Reserve capacity

Resistance (R)

Resistive voltage drop

Respiration

Retail Electric Provider (REP)

Return of energy

Reverse bias

Reverse current protection

Ribbon (photovoltaic) cells

RMS

Roof area

Roof-Mounted Installation

Root mean square (RMS)

Round trip efficiency

S -----

Sacrificial anode

Satellite power system (SPS)

Scheduling

Schottky barrier

Schottky diode

Scribing

SDG&E

Sealed battery

Seasonal depth of discharge

Secondary battery

SED

Selenium

Self consumption

Semi-Conducting Material

Self-discharge

Self Generation Incentive Program (SGIP)

Self-regulating PV system

Semiconductor

Semicrystalline

Series connection

Series controller

Series regulator

Series resistance

Shading

Shallow-cycle battery

Shelf life of batteries

Short-circuit current (Isc)

Shunt controller

Shunt regulator

Siemens process

Silicon (Si)

Sine wave

Sine wave inverter

Single-crystal material

Single-crystal silicon

Single phase power

Single-stage controller

Slurry

Smart grid

Small-Scale Technology Certificate (STC)

Snow load

Soft costs

Solar

Solar access

Solar batteries (or storage)

Solar canopies

Solar calculator

Solar carports

Solar cell

Solar charge controller

Solar collector

Solar constant

Solar cooling

Solar dealer

Solar design

Solar energy

Solar energy system

Solar easements

Solar hot water system

Solar-grade silicon

Solar insolation

Solar installer

Solar inverter

Solar irradiance

Solar modules

Solar monitoring

Solar noon

Solar panel

Solar panel cleaning

Solar panel contractors

Solar panel efficiency

Solar panel orientation

Solar Panel Tilt/Pitch

Solar power plant

Solar park

Solar resource

Solar spectrum

Solar shingles (or tiles)

Solar thermal collector

Solar Thermal Electric Generation (STEG)

Solar thermal electric systems

Southern California Edison (SCE)

Space charge

Specific gravity

Spinning reserve

Split-spectrum cell

Sputtering

Square wave

Square wave inverter

Staebler-Wronski effect

Stand-alone system

Standard reporting conditions (SRC)

Standard test conditions (STC)

Standby current

Stand-off mounting

Starved electrolyte cell

State-of-charge (SOC)

Stoma

Storage battery

Stratification

Stratum

String

String inverter

Sub-hourly energy markets

Substrate

Subsystem

Sulfation

Superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES)

Superconductivity

Superstrate

Surge capacity

System availability

System operating voltage

System storage

T -----

Tare loss

Tedlar

Telemetry device

Temperature compensation

Temperature coefficient

Temperature factors

The sun

Thermal cycling

Thermal electric

Thermal solar

Thermography

Thermophotovoltaic cell (TPV)

Thick-crystalline materials

Thin film

Thin film photovoltaic module

Thin film technology

Three phase power

Thylakoid

Tier 1

Time of use (TOU)

Tin oxide

Tilt angle

TMY

Total AC load demand

Total harmonic distortion

Total internal reflection

Tracker

Tracking array

Tracking system

Transistor

Transformer

Transmitter

Transparent conducting oxide (TCO)

Tray cable (TC)

Trickle charge

Tunneling

Turbine

Two-axis tracking

U -----

Ultraviolet

Underground feeder (UF)

Underground service entrance (USE)

Uninterruptible power supply (UPS)

Unit Energy Consumption (UEC)

Usable capacity

Utility-interactive inverter

Utility-Scale PV

V -----

VAC

Vacuum evaporation

Vacuum zero

Valence band

Valence electron

Valence level energy/valence state

Varistor

VDC

Vented cell

Vertical multijunction (VMJ) cell

Visible spectrum

Vmp

Voc

Volt (V)

Voltage

Voltage rise calculations (VRC)

Voltage at maximum power (Vmp)

Voltage protection

Voltage regulation

VPN

W -----

Wafer

Watt

Water cycle

Watt-hour (Wh)

Watt-Peak (Wp)

Waveform

Wavelength

Wet shelf life

Wholesale electricity

Window

Wire types

Work function

Y -----

Yield

Yield optimisation

Yield report

Z -----

Zenith angle

Zero net energy