Terminologies

• ELECTRICAL DEFINITIONS

  Ø  Voltage (V): It is the electrical potential energy. Unit is volts

  Ø  Current (I): It is the flow of electrons through a conductor. Unit is in Amperes A or amps.

  Ø  Resistance, R: It is anything that impedes the flow of current through a circuit. Unit is in ohms, Ω. NB: Current flowing through a resistance creates HEAT.

  Ø  Energy: It is the capacity of something to perform work. Solar energy falls on PV panels which convert it to electrical energy and then stored in batteries.

  Ø  Power, P: It is the rate at which work is done. Unit is Watts.

  Ø  Ampere-Hour: It is the amount of energy stored in a battery that will allow one ampere of current to flow for one hour.

  Ø  Watt-Hour: It is the measure of energy equivalent to a power consumption of one watt for one hour.

  Ø  Circuit: It is the term used to describe a path over which current flows when a voltage is applied.

  Ø  DC: Direct current is the current that flows in only one direction through a circuit.

  Ø  AC: Alternating current is the current that periodically reverses direction as it flows through a circuit.

  Ø  Receptacles/Outlet: It is the wall feature into which appliances are plugged.

   

  SOLAR POWER DEFINITIONS

  Ø  Ultraviolet Light, UV: It is the light with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light. It can pass through some clouds that block much visible light.

  Ø  Photovoltaic, PV: It is a material that produces  voltage when exposed to radiant energy such as light

  Ø  PV Panel or Solar Panel: It is an assembly of PV cells wired together to provide power when illuminated by sunlight.

  Ø  PV Array or Solar array: They both refer to a group of PV panels wired together.

  Ø  Azimuth: It is the direction of the sun from the observer.

  Ø  Elevation: It is the angular measurement of the sun’s height in the sky

  Ø  Insolation: The amount of solar radiation received by a PV panel.

  Ø  Daylight Saving Time, DST: It is the regional practice of advancing clocks one hour in summer to provide more hours of daylight in the evening. Also known as summer time.

  Ø  Solar Noon: It is the moment the sun is at an azimuth of 180⁰ i.e. due south and it is at its highest elevation of the day

  Ø  Harvest: It refers to the amount of power collected by a PV array during a particular time period in a day.

  Ø  Battery: It is a device consisting of cells that produce electricity from a chemical reaction. It uses Lead plates and Sulphuric acid too create its reaction mostly.

  Ø  Depth of Discharge, DOD: It is the lowest a battery should be discharged to ensure long life.

  Ø  Charge Controller: It is an electronic device that adjusts the amount of power being sent to charge batteries in the system.

  Ø  Inverter: It is an electronic device that converts DC to AC