Solar & Wind Energy Glossary
Solar PV - photovoltaic -
solar panels which produce electricity when exposed to light. Also
called pv modules, pv cells and solar modules. The "pv" effect was
first discovered in 1838 by nineteen-year-old Edmund Becquerel.
See also: Introduction to solar panels.
Wind Turbine Generator - 'WTG' - a rotating machine which produces
energy from the wind. The first known electricity generating windmill
operated was a battery charging machine installed in 1887 by Professor
James Blyth in Scotland.
See also: Introduction to wind generators.
Battery - batteries are
used to store energy. They can be made of various materials however
lead acid batteries are most commonly used for solar & wind
applications. Lead-acid battery recycling is one of the most successful
recycling programs in the world. The modern lead acid battery was
developed in 1859 by French physicist Gaston Planté.
See also: Introduction to deep cycle batteries.
DC to AC Power Inverter - these devices convert DC power as stored
in batteries into AC power as found in a house. They are very
convenient, however they do waste power when on standby and as such are
not recommended for lighting, refrigeration or other applications where
the inverter is on for longer periods of time.
See also: Introduction to power inverters.
Charge Controller /
Regulator - these devices are primarily designed to prevent the
batteries being overcharged, however the more advanced units also offer
a variety of information such as charging current, battery voltage and
some even log historical performance data.
See also: Introduction to charge controllers.
Mounting Frame - used to
mount solar pv modules. They can range from being a simple supporting
framework, through to a fully automated tracking structure which
follows the sun.
DC to DC Converter -
these devices convert a dc voltage supply into another dc voltage, such
as a 24v to 12v converter. They are generally more efficient than using
AC inverters, especially for devices such as laptops or mobile phones.
Low Voltage Disconnect -
LVD - these devices disconnect a load from the batteries to prevent
over discharge of a battery. Over discharge is one of the most common
ways of killing a battery and an LVD unit is essential on most power
systems.
Maximum Power Point Tracking
- MPPT - a technology used in newer charge controllers which allows
more power to reach the batteries. This is achieved with a very high
efficiency dc to dc converter - which converts the normal 17.4v coming
from the solar panel into 13.7v to charge the battery. As a result the
charging current is higher - sometimes by up to a 33% gain.
'Factor Four' - a term used to describe
outstanding efficiency. The idea behind FACTOR FOUR is that natural
resources can be used more efficiently in all domains of daily life,
either by generating more products, services and quality of life from
the available resources, or by using less resources to maintain the
same standard. This idea was first put forward in the book "Factor Four: Doubling Wealth – Halving
Resource Use"
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