Summary: Thin film solar cells use much less semi-conductor material than crystalline solar cells. You might have heard about Thin Film Solar Cells. What indeed are they? Why are they called “thin film”? And what advantages do these have over conventional…
IGBT – The Core of the Solar Inverter
Summary: IGBT is an an electronic switch. In solar inverters, this switch performs the key functions to convert direct current from the solar cells to an alternating current. When you talk about inverters to many technical folks in the solar energy sector,…
Polysilicon – from Sand to Solar Cells, it Starts Here
Summary: Polysilicon, a highly refined form of silicon, is the starting material for solar cells. For silicon-based solar cells, polysilicon is the starting material. What is polysilicon, and how is a silicon cell made from polysilicon? Polysilicon is formed from Quartzite,…
Solar Cell – The Basic Unit of a Solar Power Plant
Summary: A solar cell is the smallest unit of a solar power system. Many solar cells make a solar panel. A solar cell is the basic electricity generating unit of the solar photovoltaic system. You would have surely heard about Solar…
Solar Cell and Panel Efficiency
Summary: Conventional solar PV cell efficiency are in the range 10-22%, and module efficiency in the range 9-20%. If only we had super high efficient solar cells, the whole world would only be using solar to power everything. So what…
Mounting Structure – Supporting the Solar Panels on the Ground
Summary: The mounting structure is the supporting structure that holds the solar panels or arrays of solar panels to the ground. When you see solar panels, whether on rooftops or on the ground, you see them mounted on metallic structures.…
Rooftop Solar – Converting Your Rooftop into a Power Plant
Summary: Rooftop solar refers to solar PV power plants mounted on top of roofs – building roofs, car parking roofs and other roofs. Everyone today is talking about Rooftop Solar, those interesting looking solar panels on top of residential and…
MWh – Megawatt Hour – Thousand Units of Electricity
Summary: MWh is the abbreviation for Mega Watt Hours. A MWh equals 1000 Kilo Watt Hours (kWh), where a kWh one unit of electricity What is a megawatt hour (MWh), and what is its relevance to solar power? A MWh…
Feed in Tariff – Price of Power Fed to the Grid
Summary: Feed-in-tariff (FiT) is a special price paid by the electricity utility to power generators for the power the generators feed into the grid. World over, governments offer Feed-in-tariffs to encourage businesses and house-owners to put up solar power plants. What…
Solar Inverter – The Brain of a Solar Power Plant
Summary: A solar inverter is the brain for a solar power plant. While the solar panels are the most visible part of a solar power plant, the component that actually “administers” the entire power plant is the solar inverter. What are the…