Technology11 min read
Anti-islanding detection methods for grid-tied inverters
A technical walkthrough of passive and active anti-islanding methods, why the non-detection zone matters, and how installers verify compliance during commissioning.
Technology
Cell chemistries, module design, inverters and the hardware behind modern solar.
How photovoltaic hardware actually behaves: what a cell does with a photon, why an IV curve bends where it does, and what separates a module that holds its rating for twenty-five years from one that does not. Start with the physics, then work outward to modules, inverters and measurement.
What this hub answers
- How does a solar cell convert light into current?
- Why does module output fall as temperature rises?
- What does an IV curve tell you about a fault?
- How do maximum power point trackers find the operating point?
- Which degradation mechanisms matter over a system lifetime?
Start here
Technology9 min read
Reactive power and voltage support from PV inverters
How modern PV inverters use reactive power and power factor control to support grid voltage, with worked examples of cos-phi and Q(U) droop behaviour.
Technology12 min read
Potential-induced degradation: mechanisms and prevention in PV
PID can cut PV yield by 10-30% within seasons. This guide covers its mechanisms, field detection, prevention, and IEC TS 62804 testing.
Calculators
Field checklists
Terminology
- Air mass
- Albedo
- Array
- Bifaciality factor
- Bypass diode
- Cell temperature coefficient
- Diffuse irradiance
- Electroluminescence imaging
All guides in Technology
Technology12 min read
Anti-reflective coatings and module glass: transmission and durability
How AR coatings and glass texturing raise light transmission into PV cells, what durability trade-offs they carry, and how soiling interacts with coating choice over a module's service life.
Technology8 min read
TOPCon vs HJT vs PERC: cell architectures compared
A practical comparison of three dominant crystalline silicon cell architectures across efficiency, temperature behaviour, bifaciality, degradation and manufacturing cost.
Technology8 min read
Temperature coefficients and real-world PV yield
How NOCT, cell temperature models, and performance ratio explain the gap between STC nameplate ratings and what a system actually delivers.
Technology9 min read
String inverters vs microinverters vs optimisers, compared
A practical comparison of the three PV inverter architectures across shading tolerance, monitoring, cost, and failure modes to inform design choice.
Technology9 min read
Solar module degradation and warranties, decoded
How LID, LeTID and PID actually degrade a module, and how to read a product versus performance warranty against the IEC test sequences that support it.
Technology8 min read
MPPT explained: how inverters find the maximum power point
A technical walkthrough of IV curves, MPPT algorithms, and how string design choices interact with tracking behaviour in real installations.
Technology8 min read
Inverter efficiency explained: weighted efficiency and clipping
How European weighted efficiency, CEC efficiency, and MPPT efficiency differ, and how DC/AC ratio and clipping shape real annual energy yield.
Technology10 min read
How solar panels work, from photon to breaker panel
A systems-level walk through the physics, materials and electronics that turn sunlight into usable household electricity, from the silicon lattice to the consumer unit.
Technology8 min read
Bifacial solar modules: how much extra energy do they really add?
How bifaciality factor, ground albedo and mounting height combine to determine the rear-side energy gain of bifacial modules, with a worked gain calculation.
Technology12 min read
EV charging with solar: surplus charging and load management
How to size, control, and integrate EV charging with a home PV system, covering surplus-only charging, charger types, and tariff interaction.
Technology13 min read
IV curve tracing in the field: equipment and interpretation
A practical guide to portable IV curve tracers, how to read curve shapes against a healthy reference, and the fault signatures they reveal in PV strings.
Technology13 min read
PV module construction and materials: glass to junction box
A layer-by-layer look at how crystalline silicon modules are built, the bill of materials involved, and the failure modes each component is prone to over a 25-year service life.
Technology13 min read
PV monitoring and performance ratio: definitions and practice
How performance ratio is defined and measured under IEC 61724, what data acquisition architecture it requires, and how to set alarms that catch faults without noise.
Technology11 min read
How a Solar Cell Turns Light Into Current
Silicon does something quietly strange when a photon hits it. Here is the full path from sunlight to the electricity in your kitchen, without hand-waving.
Technology12 min read
Sodium-ion and emerging battery chemistries: an honest status check
Where sodium-ion, LTO, flow, and solid-state batteries actually stand today on energy density, cost, and cycle life for solar storage applications.
Technology14 min read
Solar irradiance and resource data: sources and uncertainty
How GHI, DNI, and DHI are measured and modeled, which TMY datasets and databases to trust, and how P50/P90 uncertainty bands should shape yield assessments.
Technology12 min read
Solar panel efficiency explained: STC, real-world yield and area
Module efficiency is a lab metric under standard test conditions. This explains what it measures, why real-world yield differs, and when area matters more than the percentage on the datasheet.
Technology13 min read
Thermal imaging of PV arrays: method and fault interpretation
How infrared inspection of PV arrays works in practice, the hotspot patterns that identify specific fault types, and drone-based workflows aligned with IEC TS 62446-3.