Glossary
Alternating Current (AC) – The flow of electricity constantly changes direction between positive and negative sides .The main grid and all your electrical appliances run on AC.
Battery back-up – Batteries can be purchase with solar electricity systems. They can store the additional electricity not used immediately. This is the best protection against blackouts, as our laws require power to be cut in a blackout even if you are using solar power.
Circuit – One or more conductors through which electricity flows.
Converter – An electrical product/appliance that changes the quantity or quality of electrical energy.
Crystalline Silicon – A type of photovoltaic (PV) cell made from a single-crystal silicon or polycrystalline silicon.
Customer Load – The amount of electricity a site uses. Load may be expressed in kilowatts (capacity) or kilowatts hours (energy)..
Direct Current (DC) – The flow of electricity, flowing continuously in on direction. This is the type of current produced by a solar energy system and must be converted to alternating current (AC) by an inverter before it can be used.
Electrical Grid – The electricity transmission and distribution system that connects power plants to customers through high-power transmission lines.
Feed-in tariff – A financial incentive mechanism identified by Federal and State Governments' which pays users for the power produced by their solar power panels and fed into the local grid. Feed-in Tariffs can be paid either gross or net of personal electricity usage and are usually capped at a solar unit size of between 5-10 kilowatts.
Grid-Connected System – A solar system in which the PV elements/array operates like a central power generating plant, supply power back to the grid.
Inverter – A device converting direct current electricity to alternating current (AC) either for stand-alone or grid-connected systems.
Irradiance - The direct, diffuse and reflected solar radiation that strikes a surface. Usually expressed in kilowatts per square meter.
Kilowatt (kW) – 1,000 watts. A unit of measure of the amount of electricity required to perate an identified piece of equipment.
Kilowatt-hour (kWh) – The amount of kW produced over a period of time; or one kW of electricity supplied for one hour.
Mains Grid – The interconnection of electricity generation plants through transmission lines to customers. The grid also refers to the interconnection of utilities through the electric distribution and transmission systems.
Megawatt – One thousand kilowatts or one million watts.
Mounting Equipment/System – Apparatus used to fasten solar panels (PV) to fixed building structures. To achieve the "solar optimum" installation should have an alignment to the north and an inclination maximising the solar energy radiation.
Photovoltaic Cell or Module (PV) – a device producing an electric reaction to light, thereby producing electricity.
Polycrystalline Silicon - A material used to make photovoltaic cells; consisting of many crystals.
Small Technology Certificate (STC) – Credit awarded by the Australian Government to households and other eligible "small generation unit" customers. They can either be traded or cashed in at the point of purchase. The price fluctuates according to market value.
Solar Energy – Heat and light radiated from the sun.
Solar Panel - Device that collects energy from the sun (solar energy). This is generally a solar photovoltaic (PV) module that uses solar cells to convert light from the sun into electricity.
Storage – The saving of surplus electricity produced by a PV system. Batteries are the most popular storage devices.
Volt (V)– The amount of (electromotive) force (voltage) required to drive a steady current/electric charge of one or more ampere (amp) through a unit of electrical resistance (ohm) of one ohm. Electrical systems in most homes and offices use 120 volts.
Watt(W) – Electric measurement of power at one point in time, as capacity or demand. For example: light bulbs are classified by wattage.