Solar power

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

Add a new term

Contributors in Solar power

Become a Contributors

Solar power

staebler-wronski effect

Energy; Solar power

The tendency of the sunlight to electricity conversion efficiency of amorphous silicon photovoltaic devices to degrade (drop) upon initial exposure to light.

direct insolation

Energy; Solar power

Sunlight falling directly upon a collector. Opposite of diffuse insolation.

stand-alone system

Energy; Solar power

An autonomous or hybrid photovoltaic system not connected to a grid. May or may not have storage, but most stand-alone systems require batteries or some other form of storage.

discharge

Energy; Solar power

The withdrawal of electrical energy from a battery.

stand-off mounting

Energy; Solar power

Technique for mounting a photovoltaic array on a sloped roof, which involves mounting the modules a short distance above the pitched roof and tilting them to the optimum angle.

discharge factor

Energy; Solar power

A number equivalent to the time in hours during which a battery is discharged at constant current usually expressed as a percentage of the total battery capacity, i.e., C/5 indicates a discharge ...

standard reporting conditions (SRC)

Energy; Solar power

A fixed set of conditions (including meteorological) to which the electrical performance data of a photovoltaic module are translated from the set of actual test conditions.