An amp is a unit of electrical current. It represents the amount of electricity is being drawn through the power cable. A product that draws 10 amps uses twice as much electricity as a product that draws 5 amps.
Central Generation
Production of energy at a large (500-3000 Megawatt) Power Plant and transmitted through an infrastructure to a widely distributed group of users.
Crystalline silicon solar cells
Solar Cells manufuctured from crystalline silicon. Monocrystalline cells are sliced from single crystal boule. Multicristalline cells are made by casting a block of silcon, cutting it into bars and then slicing it into wafers. Used for their stability and reliability.
Distributed Generation
Production of energy close to the location where it will be consumed. Typically involves power from 1 Kilowatt to 5 Megawatts.
Grid-Connected or Grid-Tied
Power generation that is connected to the Utilities electrical grid.
Kilowatt
A unit of electrical power equal to 1000 watts or 1.341 horsepower. Also written as kW.
Kilowatt Hour
Amount of power (in Kilowatts) expended in 1 hour. Also written as kWh.
Off-Grid System
Systems that are not connected to the utilities electrical grid. Off-Grid systems operate independently. SolarOne Lighting Systems are off-grid systems.
Ohm
An ohm is a measure of resistance to the current flow of electrical circuits. One Ohm is the amount of resistance overcome by one volt in causing one ampere to flow.
Photovoltaic Effect
The conversion of sunlight into usable electricity.
Photovoltaics
Research related to Solar Cells.
Silicon
Silicon (Si) is a cemical element. On Earth, silicon is the second most abundant element (after oxygen) in the crust, making up 25.7% of the crust by mass. Silicon has many industrial uses. Elemental silicon is the principal component of most semiconductor devices. Silicon is widely used in semiconductors because it remains a semiconductor at higher temperatures than the semiconductor germanium and because its native oxide is easily grown in a furnace and forms a better semiconductor/dielectric interface than almost all other material combinations. Solar cells are made from silicon.
Solar Cells
Solar Cells wafers of silicon and other materials that convert the sun's energy into electricity. The outer layers have a positive and negative terminal like those found in a battery.
Thin-Film Solar Cells
Thin film solar cells employ materials such as amorphous silicon (a-Si, still silicon, but in a different form), cadmium telluride (CdTe) and copper indium (gallium) diselenide (CIS or CIGS). These materials materials have high light absorbancy and a much thinner layer of material is required. Cells fabricated from these materials are currently less efficient than Crystalline cells, but promise attractive cost and flexibility benefits.
Volt
One volt is the force required to send one ampere of electrical current through a resistance of one ohm. A volt can be described as electrical pressure.
Voltage
The electric potential or pressure under which electricity flows.
Watt
A scientific unit of electrical power commonly used to describe the rate of energy consumption of an electrical appliance. One Watt is the power equal to one joule of energy per second.
Watt Hours
Amount of power (in watts) expended in 1 hour. Also written as Wh.
