Electical Contractor

Finalists for the California Clean Tech Open’s Renewable Energy Prize will present their innovations at Solar Power 2006, the largest business-to-business solar conference and expo in the United States.

Oak Tree Village, San Jose, Calif., is Akeena Solar’s latest commercial solar electric project with JSM Enterprises, a development company.

It was bright and sunny in the Los Angeles area, the kind of summer day the Chamber of Commerce likes to trumpet. Convertible tops were down on the freeways, tourists behind sunglasses were taking in the sights and residents accustomed to the warm, balmy weather were attired in cotton comfort.

At the heart of any photovoltaic (PV) system is the inverter, also referred to as the power conversion unit (PCU) or power conversion system (PCS).

Solar-power cells, also known as photovoltaics (PV), are semiconductors that convert sunlight directly to direct current (DC) electric power. “The sun’s light dislodges free electrons in each cell on the solar panel and collects them on conductors to create a volt.

Distributed generation (DG) is the process of generating electricity at or near the point of use. Examples include solar energy and wind-powered systems as well as natural gas fueled technologies.

Photovoltaic (PV) installations are becoming more common in commercial and residential buildings as PV-system efficiencies increase, installed costs decrease and cost of conventional utility-supplied electric power increases.

A utility-interactive photovoltaic (PV) system is defined in Section 690.2 of the National Electrical Code (NEC) (NFPA 70-2005) as a “photovoltaic system that operates in parallel with and may deliver power to an electrical production and distribution network.” NEC Article 690 covers Solar Photovol

Advances in Photovoltaic (PV) materials and manufacturing processes are resulting in increased interest in the application of PV technology in buildings.