Solar Glossary A–Z: Solar Energy & PV Terms Explained

An A–Z glossary of essential solar energy and PV terms, clearly explained for installers, designers, and solar professionals.

B (16 Entries)

Balance of Plant (BoP)

Balance of System (BOS)

Base Load Estimation

Battery Cycle Life

Battery Management System (BMS)

Battery Storage

Battery Time-Shift Modeling

Bifacial Solar Panel

Bill of Materials (BOM)

Bill of Quantities (BoQ)

Budgetary Quote

Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV)

C (16 Entries)

CAD-to-PV Mapping

CRM Integration

Capacity Factor

Carbon Footprint (Solar Context)

Cell Efficiency

Charge Controller

Charge Rate (C-Rate)

Commercial Solar Modeling

Component Library (PV Database)

Consumption Profile Import

Contractor Terms (Installation Context)

Curtailment Modeling

D (14 Entries)

DC (Direct Current)

DC-Coupled System

Degradation Rate

Demand Charge (Solar Modeling)

Design Automation

Design Review Workflow

Design Variant Comparison

Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance (DHI)

Digital Twin Modeling

Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI)

Distributed Generation (DG)

Drone-Based Solar Survey

Due Diligence (Solar Projects)

E (14 Entries)

EPC (Engineering, Procurement & Construction)

Electrical Line Diagrams

Electrical Single-Line Diagram (SLD)

Electrical Three-Line Diagram

Electrification (Solar Context)

Energy Forecasting

Energy Management System (EMS)

Energy Modeling

Energy Payback Time

Energy Production Forecasting

Energy Storage System (ESS)

Equipment Datasheets

Export Limit Control

Export Limiting

F (7 Entries)

Feed-in Tariff (FiT)

Field Installer App

Financial Modeling (Solar Loans/PPA)

Fleet Management (Solar O&M)

Floating Solar (FPV)

Force Majeure (Solar Contracts)

Form Factor (Battery)

G (13 Entries)

GHI (Global Horizontal Irradiance)

GIS-Based Site Analysis

Grid Code (Interconnection)

Grid Export Limitation

Grid Interconnection Application

Grid-Enhancing Technologies (GETs)

Grid-Forming Inverter

Grid-Tied System

H (12 Entries)

HERS Rating (Solar Context)

Harmonics (Power Quality)

Heat Map Analysis

Helioscope Modeling

High-Efficiency Panels

High-Resolution Satellite Imagery

Home Assessment Checklist

Home Solar System

Homeowner Proposal Builder

Horizon Profile

Hosting Capacity

Hybrid Inverter

I (17 Entries)

I-V Curve Tracing

IFC/BIM Integration

Independent Power Producer (IPP)

Interconnection Agreement

Interconnection Documents

Interconnection Queue

Inverter Clipping

Inverter Loading Ratio (ILR)

Inverter Sizing

Investment Tax Credit (ITC)

Irradiance Heat Mapping

J (1 Entries)

K (4 Entries)

Kilowatt-Hour (kWh)

Kilowatt-Peak (kWp)

L (17 Entries)

Labor Cost Calculator

Lat/Long Auto-Detection

Lead Nurture Automation

Lead Source Attribution

Lead-to-Proposal Automation

Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE)

LiDAR Data Integration

LiDAR Roof Model

Lifespan (Panel Lifespan)

Load Profile Analysis

Loan / Cash / PPA Modeling

Local Incentives Database

Loss Factor Calculation

M (19 Entries)

Map-Based Roof Detection

Maximum Power Point (MPP)

Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT)

Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF)

Mean Time To Repair (MTTR)

Merchant Risk (C&I Solar)

Module Degradation

Module Placement Optimization

Module-Level Mismatch

Module-Level Power Electronics (MLPE)

Monocrystalline Silicon

Monthly Production Simulation

Mounting Load Calculator

Mounting Structure

Mounting Structure Design

N (9 Entries)

N-Type Solar Cell

NEM (Net Energy Metering)

National Electrical Code (NEC)

Net Present Value (NPV)

Net Savings Projection

Net Zero (Solar Context)

Nominal Voltage

O (9 Entries)

O&M (Operations & Maintenance)

OMS (Order Management System)

Obstruction Detection

Off-Grid System

Offsets Calculation

Offtake Agreement

Offtaker Creditworthiness

OpenSolar Proposal Tools

Q (4 Entries)

Qualitative Shading Analysis

Quick Proposal Generation

Quick-Connect MC4

R (17 Entries)

REC (Renewable Energy Certificate)

Real-Time Cost Estimation

Real-Time Production Simulation

Remote Measuring Tool

Remote Site Survey

Renewable Energy

Return on Investment (ROI)

Roof Pitch Measurement

Roof Pitch Scanner

Roof Segmentation

Roof Shading Report

T (9 Entries)

Tax Equity (Solar)

Thermal Drone Inspection

Third-Party Financing Integrations

Tilt & Azimuth Optimization

Time-of-Use (TOU) Rate Modeling

Topographic Analysis

Truck Roll Reduction

U (4 Entries)

User Permissions / Role Management

Utility Approval Process

Utility Rate Lookup

Utility-Scale Solar

V (13 Entries)

Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G)

Vehicle-to-Home (V2H)

Version Control (Design Files)

Virtual Array Layout

Virtual Net Metering

Virtual Power Plant (VPP)

Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA)

Virtual Site Visit

Voltage Ride-Through

W (7 Entries)

Warranty (solar equipment context)

Weather Data Integration

Wheeling (grid-solar context)

Wind Load Calculation

Work Order Management

Workflow Automation

X (1 Entries)

XIRR (solar project internal return context)

Y (2 Entries)

Yield Assessment

Z (1 Entries)

Zero-Export Constraint

Win your next project in just minutes.

Connect with a specialist for personalized insights and support tailored to your solar business needs.