Website for Turnkey Solar Solutions in Arizona

Frequently asked questions (FAQ).

Alternator - an electrical generator which produces alternating current.

Ammeter - a device used for measuring current flow at any point in an electrical circuit.

Amp-hour (AH or Amp-hr) - a unit of measurement which quantifies the amount of current flow for an amount of time. For example, a current of 1 amp drawn from a battery for 10 hours would consume 10 Amp-hrs of charge from the battery. Fundamentally, a measurement of electrical charge.

AWG - "American Wire Gauge", a set of standards specifying the diameter of wire.

Ballast - a circuit used to stabilize an electric current, for example, in a fluorescent light.

Charge controller - a device which regulates the voltage of a battery. These may be used to assure a battery is not overcharged and/or overly discharged.

Charge rate - the amount of energy per unit time that is being added to the battery, commonly expressed as the ratio of rated capacity to charge duration in hours.

Current - refers to electrical current, i.e. the flow of the electrons, electricity.

Cycle - one complete charge/discharge cycle of the battery.

Deep cycle battery - a battery designed to regularly discharge 80 percent of its capacity before recharging.

Depth of discharge - the amount of energy withdrawn from a battery or cell expressed as a percentage of its rated capacity.

Diode - a semiconductor device which allows electrical current to flow through it in only one direction.

Direct Current (DC) - an electrical current which flows in one direction only.

Equalizing Charge - a controlled overcharge of an already full battery to restore all the individual cells within the battery to the same state of charge.

Fuse - an electrical device which is designed to break a circuit and halt current flow when the current in the circuit exceeds the maximum considered to be safe for the conductors of devices in the circuit.

Insolation - the amount of solar energy striking a surface, measured in watts per square meter.

Inverter - a device which converts DC voltage / current (typically 12, 24, 36 or 48 VDC) to AC voltage / current (typically 120 or 240 VAC).

Light Emitting Diode - a semiconductor device composed of a P-N junction designed such that electrons emit visible light during their migration across the junction.

Line / Wire Loss - refers to the voltage or power lost due to the resistance of any wire (or wires) in any electrical circuit.

Linear Current Booster (LCB) - an electronic circuit that matches PV output directly to a motor. Most commonly used in direct water pumping.

Load - refers to any electrical device which draws electrical current from a voltage source, for example, any household appliance.

Lumen - a unit of measurement quantifying the amount of light emitted from a light source.

Ohm - the unit which quantifies a material's resistance to electrical flow.

Open Circuit Voltage - refers to the voltage difference of two points in a circuit when the two points are electrically disconnected from each other.

Parallel Connection - an electrical circuit with more than one possible path for electronic flow.

Peak Watts (Wp) - the maximum power a device produces or consumes.

Photovoltaic (PV) - refers to any device which produces free electrons when exposed to light. When these electrons are properly gathered, a potential difference (voltage) may be produced by the device, for example, a solar cell produces approximately one half volt in full sun.

Polycrystalline cell (also known as "multicrystalline cell") - a wafer of silicon with a multi-grained structure. All grains have the same atomic crystal lattice, however, each grain has a unique orientation in space thereby producing a unique reflection of light, resulting in a 'patchy' appearance.

Power - describes the rate of energy use per unit time, measured in watts, i.e. watt = 1 joule/sec.

PV Array - two or more photovoltaic modules wired in series and/or parallel

Resistance - refers to the resistance of a material to the flow of electrons, measured in ohms.

Self-discharge - the tendency of all electrochemical cells to lose energy. Self-discharge represents energy lost to internal chemical reactions within the cell.

Series Connection - an electrical circuit with only one possible path for electronic flow.

Shunt - a resistive load through which electricity is diverted. Often the resistance of a shunt is known precisely and is used to determine amperage by measuring the voltage across it and using Ohm's law (I = V/R).

State of Charge (SOC) - a ratio, expressed in percent of the energy remaining in a battery in relation to its capacity when full.

Surge Capacity - refers to the maximum amount of AC power an inverter may deliver to a load (or loads) for a short period of time.

Switch - a common device which breaks an electrical circuit thereby halting the flow of electricity through the circuit.

Tracker - any device used to direct a PV array toward the sun.

Volt (V) - the unit of measurement which quantifies the difference in the strength of the electric field of two points - often referred to as electrical potential difference.

Voltmeter - a device for measuring the voltage difference between any two points in an electrical circuit.

Watt - a fundamental unit of measurement of power, the rate of electrical work, 1 watt = 1 joule/sec.