The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to solar energy:
Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun. It has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Modern day applications of solar energy technologies include solar heating, solar photovoltaics, solar thermal electricity and solar architecture. Today, these technologies serve as critical components for mitigation of global energy and environmental challenges.
Overview Solar energy can be described as all of the following: Energy – an indirectly observed quantity, often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems. Renewable energy – energy which comes from natural resources which are naturally replenished. Natural resource – materials and components (something that can be used) that can be found within the environment. Every man-made product is composed of natural resources (at its fundamental level). A natural resource may exist as a separate entity such as fresh water, and air, as well as a living organism such as a fish, or it may exist in an alternate form which must be processed to obtain the resource such as metal ores, oil, and most forms of energy. Renewable resource – natural resource with the ability to reproduce through biological or natural processes and are replenished with the passage of time.
Sunlight Sun – the star at the center of the Solar System Sunlight – in the broad sense, is the total frequency spectrum of electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun, particularly infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light.
History of solar energy Growth of photovoltaics – Timeline of solar cells – begins in the 19th century when it is observed that the presence of sunlight is capable of generating usable electrical energy. Timeline of solar energy –
Conversion of solar energy Solar power – the conversion of sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP). Active solar – technologies are employed to convert solar energy into another more useful form of energy (for example, to heat or electrical energy). Heliostat – a device that includes a mirror, usually a plane mirror, which turns so as to keep reflecting sunlight toward a predetermined target, compensating for the Sun's apparent motions in the sky. Solar tracker – devices that orient various payloads toward the Sun. Role of copper in generating and transmitting energy with maximum efficiency in solar photovoltaic power generation, concentrating solar thermal power, and solar water heaters. Solar cell efficiency – Solar cell – made from a monocrystalline silicon wafer Solar chemical – a number of possible processes that harness solar energy by absorbing sunlight in a chemical reaction in a way similar to photosynthesis in plants but without using living organisms. Solar constant – a measure of flux density, it is the amount of incoming solar electromagnetic radiation per unit area that would be incident on a plane perpendicular to the rays, at a distance of one astronomical unit (AU) (roughly the mean distance from the Sun to the Earth). Solar inverter – or PV inverter, converts the variable direct current output of a photovoltaic (PV) solar panel into a utility frequency alternating current that can be fed into a commercial electrical grid or used by a local, off-grid electrical network. Solar photovoltaics –
Solar thermal energy Solar thermal energy (STE) – technology for harnessing solar energy for thermal energy (heat). Solar district heating and solar district cooling. See: Seasonal thermal energy storage. Solar water heating (SWH) – or solar hot water (SHW) systems comprise several innovations and many mature renewable energy technologies that have been well established for many years. Solar air conditioning – any air conditioning (cooling) system that uses solar power. Thermal mass – a concept in building design regarding how the mass of the building provides "inertia" against temperature fluctuations, sometimes known as the thermal flywheel effect. Solar pond – a pool of saltwater which acts as a large-scale solar thermal energy collector with integral heat storage for supplying thermal energy. Solar chimney – solar chimney – often referred to as a thermal chimney – is a way of improving the natural ventilation of buildings by using convection of air heated by passive solar energy.
Concentrated solar power Concentrated solar power – a system that uses mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight, or solar thermal energy, onto a small area. Electrical power is produced when the concentrated light is converted to heat, which drives a heat engine (usually a steam turbine) connected to an electrical power generator. Parabolic trough – a type of solar thermal energy collector.
Photovoltaics Photovoltaics – Photoelectric effect – electrons are emitted from matter (metals and non-metallic solids, liquids or gases) as a consequence of their absorption of energy from electromagnetic radiation of very short wavelength, such as visible or ultraviolet radiation. Photovoltaics (PV) – is a method of generating electrical power by converting solar radiation into direct current electricity using semiconductors that exhibit the photovoltaic effect. Growth of photovoltaics – showing the history of installed photovoltaics. Timeline of solar cells – begins in the 19th century when it is observed that the presence of sunlight is capable of generating usable electrical energy. Solar insolation – a measure of solar radiation energy received on a given surface area and recorded during a given time. It is also called solar irradiation. Not to be confused with insulation. Solar constant – a measure of flux density, is the amount of incoming solar electromagnetic radiation per unit area that would be incident on a plane perpendicular to the rays, at a distance of one astronomical unit|astronomical unit (AU) (roughly the mean distance from the Sun to the Earth). Solar cell efficiency – the percentage of the solar energy to which the cell is exposed that is converted into electrical energy. Also referred to as "energy conversion efficiency". Third generation photovoltaic cell – are solar cells that are potentially able to overcome the Shockley-Queisser limit of 31-41% power efficiency for single bandgap solar cells. Solar cell research – in universities and research institutions around the world. Quantum efficiency of a solar cell – Cadmium telluride – a crystalline compound formed from cadmium and tellurium, used as an infrared optical window and a solar cell material. Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) – energy conversion is a direct conversion process from heat differentials to electricity via photons. Polycrystalline silicon photovoltaics – are a type of solar cell. Thermodynamic efficiency limit – the absolute maximum theoretically possible conversion efficiency of sunlight to electricity. Sun-free photovoltaics – Polarizing organic photovoltaics (ZOPV) – is a concept for harvesting energy from Liquid crystal display screens, developed by engineers from UCLA. Solar cell – made from a monocrystalline silicon wafer. Polymer solar cell – are a type of flexible solar cell. Nanocrystal solar cell – are solar cells based on a substrate with a coating of nanocrystals. Solar panel – (also solar module, photovoltaic module or photovoltaic panel) is a packaged, connected assembly of photovoltaic cells. Photovoltaic system – (PV system) use solar panels to convert sunlight into electricity. Photovoltaic power station – also known as a solar park or solar farm, is a large-scale photovoltaic system designed for the supply of merchant power into the electricity grid.
Photovoltaic system Photovoltaic system –
Solar cells Solar cell – made from a monocrystalline silicon wafer Solar panel – (also solar module, photovoltaic module or photovoltaic panel) is a packaged, connected assembly of photovoltaic cells. Thin film solar cell – made by depositing one or more thin layers of photovoltaic material onto a thin substrate. Polymer solar cell – are a type of flexible solar cell. Nanocrystal solar cell – are solar cells based on a substrate with a coating of nanocrystals. Organic solar cell – a photovoltaic cell that uses organic electronics—a branch of electronics that deals with conductive organic polymers or small organic molecules. Quantum dot solar cell – are an emerging field in solar cell research that uses quantum dots as the photovoltaic material, as opposed to better-known bulk materials such as silicon, copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) or CdTe. Hybrid solar cell – combine advantages of both organic and inorganic semiconductors. Plasmonic solar cell (PSC) – are a class of photovoltaic devices that convert light into electricity by using plasmons. Carbon nanotubes in photovoltaics – Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC or DYSC) – is a low-cost solar cell belonging to the group of thin film solar cells. Cadmium telluride photovoltaics – Copper indium gallium selenide solar cells – a direct bandgap semiconductor useful for the manufacture of solar cells. Multijunction photovoltaic cell – tandem cells are solar cells containing several p-n junctions. Printed solar panel –
System components Solar charge controller – Solar inverter – or PV inverter, converts the variable direct current output of a photovoltaic (PV) solar panel into a utility frequency alternating current that can be fed into a commercial electrical grid or used by a local, off-grid electrical network. Solar micro-inverter – or micro inverter, converts direct current (DC) electricity from a single solar panel to alternating current (AC). Solar cable – the interconnection cable used in photovoltaic power generation. Solar combiner box – an electrical distribution box where the DC fuses or circuit breakers are placed. Photovoltaic mounting system – are used to fix solar panels on surfaces like roofs, empty plots etc. Maximum power point tracker – Solar tracker – devices that orient various payloads toward the Sun. Solar shingles – also called photovoltaic shingles, are solar cells designed to look like conventional asphalt shingles. –
System concepts Perturb and observe method – Incremental conductance method – Constant voltage method – Fill factor – Concentrated photovoltaics (CPV) – technology uses optics such as lenses to concentrate a large amount of sunlight onto a small area of solar photovoltaic materials to generate electricity. Photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collector – sometimes known as hybrid PV/T systems or PVT, are systems that convert solar radiation into thermal and electrical energy. Space-based solar power – : Part of the solar energy is lost on its way through the atmosphere by the effects of reflection and absorption. Watt-peak – ) is a measure of the nominal power of a photovoltaic solar energy device under laboratory illumination conditions.
Photovoltaic power stations Photovoltaic power station – Solar Energy Generating Systems – Stand-alone photovoltaic power system – : To store energy when an excess is available and to provide it when required. Grid-connected photovoltaic power system – Rooftop photovoltaic power station – a system which uses one or more photovoltaic panels, installed on rooftops of residential or commercial buildings, to convert sunlight into electricity. Topaz Solar Farm – a 550 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic power plant, being built in San Luis Obispo County, California. Solar Ark – one of the most famous solar buildings. Solar Umbrella house – a private residence in Venice, California, remodeled using active and passive solar design strategies to enable the house to function independent of the electrical grid.