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

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Solar power

Intrinsic layer

Energy; Solar power

A layer of semiconductor material, used in a photovoltaic device, whose properties are essentially those of the pure, undoped, material.

Gassing current

Energy; Solar power

The portion of charge current that goes into electrolytical production of hydrogen and oxygen from the electrolytic liquid. This current increases with increasing voltage and temperature.

Window

Energy; Solar power

A wide band gap material chosen for its transparency to light. Generally used as the top layer of a photovoltaic device, the window allows almost all of the light to reach the semiconductor layers ...

Gel-type battery

Energy; Solar power

Lead-acid battery in which the electrolyte is composed of a silica gel matrix.

Homojunction

Energy; Solar power

The region between an n-layer and a p-layer in a single material, photovoltaic cell.

Hybrid system

Energy; Solar power

A solar electric or photovoltaic system that includes other sources of electricity generation, such as wind or diesel generators.

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon

Energy; Solar power

Amorphous silicon with a small amount of incorporated hydrogen. The hydrogen neutralises dangling bonds in the amorphous silicon, allowing charge carriers to flow more freely.