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

Azimuth angle

Energy; Solar power

The angle between true south and the point on the horizon directly below the sun.

Projected area

Energy; Solar power

The net south-facing glazing area projected on a vertical plane.

Disconnect

Energy; Solar power

Switch gear used to connect or disconnect components in a photovoltaic system.

Standby current

Energy; Solar power

This is the amount of current (power) used by the inverter when no load is active (lost power). The efficiency of the inverter is lowest when the load demand is low.

Distributed energy resources (DER)

Energy; Solar power

A variety of small, modular power-generating technologies that can be combined with energy management and storage systems and used to improve the operation of the electricity delivery system, whether ...