2.1 Overview of Photovoltaic Installations
Although there are other forms of solar energy (e.g., solar thermal), the topics covered in this book will be limited to those relevant to photovoltaic energy. Photovoltaic (PV) installations are divided into three subassemblies capable of energy generation: the cell, the module, and the array.
A PV cell is the smallest subassembly capable of producing power. The active layer is composed of a semiconductor film responsible for converting light into electricity. This phenomenon is called the photoelectric effect, and it gives this branch of solar energy its name. For simplicity, p-n–type semiconductors, such as single crystalline ...
