Photovoltaic system

Solar string inverter and other balance of system components in Vermont, U.S.
Building-integrated photovoltaics on balcony in Helsinki, Finland
Solar rooftop system in Boston, United States
Westmill solar park in the United Kingdom
Dual axis solar tracker with concentrating photovoltaic modules in Golmud, China
Topaz Solar Farm, one of the world's largest photovoltaic power stations, as seen from space
Large commercial flattop system
Solar farm at Mt. Komekura, Japan
Photovoltaic system on Germany's highest mountain-top
Photovoltaic power systems and components:

A photovoltaic system, also called a PV system or solar power system, is an electric power system designed to supply usable solar power by means of photovoltaics. It consists of an arrangement of several components, including solar panels to absorb and convert sunlight into electricity, a solar inverter to convert the output from direct to alternating current, as well as mounting, cabling, and other electrical accessories to set up a working system. It may also use a solar tracking system to improve the system's overall performance and include an integrated battery.

PV systems convert light directly into electricity and are not to be confused with other solar technologies, such as concentrated solar power or solar thermal, used for heating and cooling. A solar array only encompasses the solar panels, the visible part of the PV system, and does not include all the other hardware, often summarized as the balance of system (BOS). PV systems range from small, rooftop-mounted or building-integrated systems with capacities ranging from a few to several tens of kilowatts to large, utility-scale power stations of hundreds of megawatts. Nowadays, most PV systems are grid-connected, while off-grid or stand-alone systems account for a small portion of the market.

Operating silently and without any moving parts or environmental emissions, PV systems have evolved from niche market applications into a mature technology used for mainstream electricity generation. A rooftop system recoups the invested energy for its manufacturing and installation within 0.7 to 2 years and produces about 95 percent of net clean renewable energy over a 30-year service lifetime.[1]: 30 [2][3]

Due to the growth of photovoltaics, prices for PV systems have rapidly declined since their introduction; however, they vary by market and the size of the system. In 2014, prices for residential 5-kilowatt systems in the United States were around $3.29 per watt,[4] while in the highly penetrated German market, prices for rooftop systems of up to 100 kW declined to €1.24 per watt.[5] Nowadays, solar PV modules account for less than half of the system's overall cost,[6] leaving the rest to the remaining BOS components and to soft costs, which include customer acquisition, permitting, inspection and interconnection, installation labor, and financing costs.[7]: 14 

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fraunhofer-PR-2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Service Lifetime Prediction for Encapsulated Photovoltaic Cells/Minimodules, A.W. Czanderna and G.J. Jorgensen, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO.
  3. ^ Bazilian, Morgan; Onyeji, Ijeoma; Liebreich, Michael; MacGill, Ian; Chase, Jennifer; Shah, Jigar; Gielen, Dolf; Arent, Doug; Landfear, Doug; Zhengrong, Shi (May 2013). "Re-considering the economics of photovoltaic power". Renewable Energy. 53: 329–338. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2012.11.029.
  4. ^ "Photovoltaic System Pricing Trends – Historical, Recent, and Near-Term Projections, 2014 Edition" (PDF). NREL. 22 September 2014. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 February 2015.
  5. ^ "Photovoltaik-Preisindex" [Solar PV price index]. PhotovoltaikGuide. Archived from the original on 10 July 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2015. Turnkey net-prices for a solar PV system of up to 100 kilowatts amounted to Euro 1,240 per kWp.
  6. ^ Fraunhofer ISE Levelized Cost of Electricity Study, November 2013, p. 19
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference IEA-roadmap-PV-2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).