The solar industry is full of terms new to most. Here are some of the most common.
There are 194 entries in this glossary.All
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Amorphous Silicon |
A thin-film, silicon photovoltaic cell having no crystalline structure. Manufactured by depositing layers of doped silicon on a substrate. See also single-crystal silicon an polycrystalline silicon. |
| Ampere (amp) |
A unit of electrical current or rate of flow of electrons. One volt across one ohm of resistance causes a current flow of one ampere. |
| Ampere-Hour (Ah/AH/Amp hour) |
A measure of the flow of current (in amperes) over one hour. |
| Angle of Incidence |
The angle that a ray of sun makes with a line perpendicular to the surface. For example, a surface that directly faces the sun has a solar angle of incidence of zero, but if the surface is parallel to the sun (for example, sunrise striking a horizontal rooftop), the angle of incidence is 90 |
| Annual Solar Savings |
The annual solar savings of a solar building is the energy savings attributable to a solar feature relative to the energy requirements of a non-solar building. |
| Array Current |
The electrical current produced by a photovoltaic array when it is exposed to sunlight. |
| Array Operating Voltage |
The voltage produced by a photovoltaic array when exposed to sunlight and connected to a load. |
| Azimuth Angle |
The angle between true south and the point on the horizon directly below the sun. |
| Balance of System |
Represents all components and costs other than the photovoltaic modules/array. It includes design costs, land, site preparation, system installation, support structures, power conditioning, operation and maintenance costs, indirect storage and related costs. |
| Base Load |
The average amount of electric power that a utility must supply in any period. |
| BIPV (Building-Integrated Photovoltaics) |
A term for the design and integration of photovoltaic (PV) technology into the building envelope, typically replacing conventional building materials. This integration may be in vertical facades, replacing view glass, divdrel glass, or other facade material; into semitransparent skylight systems; into roofing systems, replacing traditional roofing materials; into shading "eyebrows" over windows; or other building envelope systems. |
| Blocking Diode |
A semiconductor connected in series with a solar cell or cells and a storage battery to keep the battery from discharging through the cell when there is no output, or low output, from the solar cell. It can be thought of as a one-way valve that allows electrons to flow forwards, but not backwards. |
| BOS |
An acronym for Balance of System. See definition above. |
| Bypass Diode |
A diode connected across one or more solar cells in a photovoltaic module such that the diode will conduct if the cell(s) become reverse biased. It protects these solar cells from thermal destruction in case of total or partial shading of individual solar cells while other cells are exposed to full light. |
| Cadmium (Cd) |
A chemical element used in making certain types of solar cells and batteries. |