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There are two families of photovoltaic technology: Crystalline and Thin Film. Crystalline technology was the first photovoltaic
technology to be developed in the 1950's. Thin film technology is the newer of the two technologies, receiving most of the industry's
research and development effort worldwide today. Thin film technology is rapidly advancing with many breakthroughs in recent years and
many more expected in the near future.
Photovoltaic modules are most commonly installed on rooftops, an area that generally provides maximum solar exposure. Covered
parking lot structures also known as carport systems, are being used more frequently in areas with high cost of available land, such
as Hawaii. Ground mounted arrays are built where very large utility sized photovoltaic systems are desired.
All photovoltaic systems include several key components that work together to convert the available sunlight into clean, renewable electricity.
The two main common components in any photovoltaic system are:
- Photovoltaic modules: Can be either crystalline or thin film, rack mounted or building integrated (BIPV).
- Inverter: Converts DC current produced by photovoltaic modules to AC current that is transmitted to the utility grid at 60hz line frequency,
the standard in the United States & Canada. Inverters can be either wall mounted or pad mounted.
As shown in the diagram, the photovoltaic array is interconnected to the utility power grid, after power from the array is converted from DC to AC
by the inverter. The electricity produced by the rooftop photovoltaic array reduces or offsets the amount of electricity imported
from the utility grid.
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