Glossary

BERR
Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform

Consumer unit
Fusebox

EST
Energy Savings Trust

Export Meter
Electricity meter needed to measure electricity generated which is exported back to your main provider

Export Tariff
The rate at which you get paid per unit for electricity supplied from your PV system back to the grid network

Feed-in Tariff
The rate per unit which the government determines you are paid for generating electricity from your PV system

Generation Tariff
The rate per unit which you get paid for all electricity generated from your PV system, even if used in the home

Grid connected
A system that generates power that can be automatically supplied into the national electricity grid

Home Energy Check
A check to help you save energy and money in your home, by using items such as low energy light bulbs, loft insulation etc

Kilowatt-Hour (kWh)
Unit of electricity consumption, 1000 watts acting over a period of 1 hour

Kilowatt (kw)
A standard unit of electrical power equal to 1000 watts

LCBP
Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Load
The demand on the PV system, usually expressed in terms of amperes or watts

Megawatt hour
1000 kilowatt hours or 1 million watt-hours

Microgeneration
The generation of renewable or zero/low carbon energy by small generators in households, businesses or communities

Ofgem
The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets, established to regulate the gas and electricity markets in the UK

Peak Sun Hours
The equivalent number of hours per day when solar irradiance averages 1000 w/m2. For example, 6 peak sun hours means that the energy received during total daylight hours equals the energy that would have been received had the irradiance for 6 hours been 1000 w/m2

Peak Watt
A unit used to rate the performance of the solar array, the maximum nominal output of a solar array in watts (Wp) under standardized test conditions

Photovoltaic or PV
The direct conversion of light into electricity. The term Solar if often used instead of PV.

Photovoltaic/PV Cell
The smallest semiconductor element within a PV panel to perform the immediate conversion of light into electrical energy

REA
Rewewable Energy Association, the official trade organisation in the UK representing renewable energy producers

ROCs
Rewnewable Obligation Certificates; certificates given to registered generators of renewable electricity produced and sold in the UK

Solar Array
An interconnected system of solar/PV panels that function as a single electricity producing unit

Wp
Watt Power. The output of solar panels vary according to the level of light they are exposed to. The power of a solar panel is quoted as the maximum power it can produce given 100% sunlight. The Wp of a solar array is the maximum wattage that can be generated given optimum conditions