There is one major issue in solar photovoltaic (PV) industry that has not been widely discussed. You may have heard the expressions below which are being used increasingly more, especially in recent years
“I am planning to use solar technology to generate green electricity on his roof.”
“Our home is equipped with a solar system which works like a mini power plant.”
“How many pieces of solar panel does my house need to reduce my electricity bill?”
But do you know that they are technically wrong?
Let us clarify.
Solar
The word solar actually means sun. Considering that the sun is a bright ball of plasma that is sustained by its nuclear fusion reaction, the sentence technically means that the person is wishing to install a nuclear fusion power plant on its roof. Now, even the commercially feasible nuclear fission power would not be practical to be installed on a rooftop, let alone its fusion sibling which is still at infancy.
Solar System
Moving on to the second statement, the solar system probably sounds quite familiar to you, and you are right. You have most likely heard it in your science class. Below is a quote from national geographic website to jog your memory
A star system is a group of planets, meteors, or other objects that orbit a large star. While there are many star systems, including at least 200 billion other stars in our galaxy, there is only one solar system. That’s because our sun is known by its Latin name, Sol.
The solar system includes everything that is gravitationally drawn into the sun’s orbit. Astronomers have discovered there are many other large stars within our galaxy, the Milky Way. Use these resources to teach students about the objects and relationships within our solar system.
(source: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/resource-library-solar-system/)
Solar Panel
Out of the three phrases mentioned here, solar panel will take the crown as least accurately used phrase. This is because unlike the first two (solar and solar system), this term is relatively newer compared to the other two phrases.
So, what is wrong with solar panels?
Solar panel simply refers to a physical board, usually with a flat rectangular surface, which is designed to harvest sun energy into a more useful form of energy, usually heat or electricity. Notice that although this definition is partially correct to define photovoltaic panels, there is no harm in upgrading yourself to be completely correct.
Solar panel could mean either solar thermal panel or solar photovoltaic (PV) panel. Solar thermal panel converts solar energy to heat energy which is usually used to heat water. Meanwhile, solar PV conserves solar energy to the highly versatile electrical energy which can be readily converted into other forms of energy, being it heat, light, kinetic, etc.
You may think that you are still partially right and that may be good enough. But if we are playing by the similar rule as to why Indians refer to native Americans, we would argue that solar panels should refer to solar thermal heating. Simply because they are first to be recognised widely.
So there you go. If you made it this far, I hope this article improves your knowledge of the solar energy sector. While you do not necessarily have to correct everyone who mistakenly says solar, solar system, or solar panel, you can eliminate the risk of being corrected by using the correct terms as demonstrated below
“I plan to use PV technology to generate green electricity on my roof.”
“Our home is equipped with a PV system which works like a mini power plant.”
“How many pieces of PV panel does my house need to reduce my electricity bill?”
With less technological savvy audiences, you can always say ‘solar PV’ instead of just PV to give them some familiarity.
