5 Terms
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Solar power
Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP). Concentrated solar power systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. Photovoltaics convert light into electric current using the photoelectric effect.
Industry: Energy
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Solar power
orientation
Energy; Solar power
Placement with respect to the cardinal directions, N, S, E, W; azimuth is the measure of orientation from north.
overcharge
Energy; Solar power
Forcing current into a fully charged battery. The battery will be damaged if overcharged for a long period.
packing factor
Energy; Solar power
The ratio of array area to actual land area or building envelope area for a system; or, the ratio of total solar cell area to the total module area, for a module.
parallel connection
Energy; Solar power
A way of joining solar cells or photovoltaic modules by connecting positive leads together and negative leads together; such a configuration increases the current, but not the voltage.
passivation
Energy; Solar power
A chemical reaction that eliminates the detrimental effect of electrically reactive atoms on a solar cell's surface.
