Photovoltaic Conversion Efficiency Terms +

(solar electricity technical terms applying to electricity, power generation, concentrating solar power, or CSP, solar heating, solar lighting, and solar electricity)

lead-acid battery, lead acid battery
A general category that includes batteries with plates made of pure lead, lead-antimony, or lead-calcium immersed in an acid electrolyte.
life
The period during which a system is capable of operating above a specified performance level.
life-cycle cost, life cycle cost
The estimated cost of owning and operating a photovoltaic system for the period of its useful life.
light trapping
The trapping of light inside a semiconductor material by refracting and reflecting the light at critical angles; trapped light will travel further in the material, greatly increasing the probability of absorption and hence of producing charge carriers.
light-induced defects, light induced defects
Defects, such as dangling bonds, induced in an amorphous silicon semiconductor upon initial exposure to light.
line-commutated inverter, line commutated inverter
An inverter that is tied to a power grid or line. The commutation of power (conversion from direct current to alternating current) is controlled by the power line; so, if there is a failure in the power grid, the photovoltaic system cannot feed power into the line.
liquid electrolyte battery
A battery containing a liquid solution of acid and water.

Distilled water may be added to these batteries to replenish the electrolyte as necessary. Also called a flooded battery because the plates are covered with the electrolyte.

load
The demand on an energy producing system; the energy consumption or requirement of a piece or group of equipment.

Usually expressed in terms of amperes or watts in reference to electricity.

load circuit
The wire, switches, fuses, etc. that connect the load to the power source.
load current (A)
The current required by the electrical device.
load resistance
The resistance presented by the load.
low voltage cutoff; LVC
The voltage level at which a charge controller will disconnect the load from the battery.
low voltage disconnect
The voltage at which a charge controller will disconnect the load from the batteries to prevent over-discharging.
low voltage disconnect hysteresis
The voltage difference between the low voltage disconnect set point and the voltage at which the load will be reconnected.
low voltage warning
A warning buzzer or light that indicates the low battery voltage set point has been reached.
—The information for the entries in this unit were compiled primarily from data
provided in the following source:

"U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy"
consisting of definitions of many important terms having to do with electricity,
power generation, concentrating solar power (CSP), solar heating, solar lighting,
and solar electricity, also known as photovoltaic (PV).

Information was also compiled from the

Academic Press Dictionary of Science and Technology; Edited by Christopher Morris;
Academic Press; Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers; New York; 1992;
as well as,
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th edition;
Sybil P. Parker, editor in chief; McGraw-Hill, Inc.; 1989.

Index of additional Scientific and Technological Topics.