Photovoltaic Solar Panels (pv)

When people speak of “solar panels”, generally what they are speaking of are photovoltaic cells, or “pv” for short. So, while all of our renewable energy products at South Coast Solar are “solar”, or use the sun’s energy, only photovoltaic cells actually produce electricity. Our other two products are thermal, and use the sun’s energy to heat water for your home or swimming pool.

Photovoltaic (PV) is the field of technology and research related to the application of solar cells for energy by converting sunlight directly into electricity. Due to the growing need for solar energy, the manufacture of solar cells and photovoltaic arrays has expanded dramatically in recent years.  Photovoltaic production has been doubling every two years, increasing by an average of 48 percent each year since 2002, making it the world’s fastest-growing energy technology. At the end of 2007, according to preliminary data, cumulative global production was 12,400 megawatts.  Roughly 90% of this generating capacity consists of grid-tied electrical systems. Such installations may be ground-mounted (and sometimes integrated with farming and grazing) or built into the roof or walls of a building, known as Building Integrated Photovoltaic or BIPV for short. Financial incentives, such as preferential feed-in tariffs for solar-generated electricity and net metering, have supported solar PV installations in many countries including Germany, Japan, and the United States.

Source: Wikipedia