Acronyms and jargon can be baffling!
These are all linked to renewable energy.
Scroll down below for an explanation of:
what is a kW and a kWh?
AC - alternating current
AD - Anaerobic Digestion
AIC - average interrupt capability
Ampere - a unit of electrical current
ASHP - Air Source Heat Pump
Azimuth angle - the angle between true south and the point on the horizon directly below the sun.
BIPV - Building integrated photovoltaics
BMS - battery management system
BSS - battery storage system
DC - direct current
DNO - Distribution Network Operator - operator of the electric power distribution system which delivers electricity to most end users.
EMS - energy management system
FiT - Feed in Tariff - a subsidy for installing solar which ended in April 2019.
Ground anchors/screws - very large screws used a with heavy base plate to mount a solar tracker safely, rather than digging a hole and pouring concrete.
Ground mounted solar PV - panels are mounted in a static aluminium frame in rows on the ground - most solar farms are like this.
GW - gigawatt - 1 billion watts = 1,000 megawatts
Inverter - An inverter is required to convert the direct current from panels into alternating current used for household appliances.
ISO - International Organisation for Standards, eg ISO9000 quality management
KW - Kilowatt
kWH - Kilowatt Hour
MCS - Microgeneration Certification Scheme - a quality assurance scheme that provides consumer protection for small scale renewable energy technologies such as PV, heat pumps etc. Can also apply to installers. Was started by the government but became independent in April 2018. Not compulsory and many installers no longer bother with it.
MW - Megawatt - 1,000 kilowatts or 1 million watts
MicroCHP - Micro combined heat and power
Microgrid - several solar arrays joined together to generate a larger amount of electricity
Microinverter - is a plug-and-play device that converts DC generated by a single panel to AC. A single micro inverter will be attached to each solar panel in the array, contrasting with conventional string inverters that are connected to multiple solar panels. Ideal solution if one or more panels is shade compromised as they avoid the rest of the panels being negatively affected.
NIC - National Inspection Council certification for electrical installation contractors
Optimiser - A solar panel optimiser is a device that can be added to one or all panels in an array . Its aim is to increase the output of a solar installation, by bypassing the shaded solar module which allows the system to operate to its full potential.
PCS - power conversion system, ie inverter
PD - permitted development (planning term)
PV - photo voltaic
PV array - an interconnected system of PV panels that function as a single electricity producing unit.
RHI - Renewable Heat Incentive
ROI - Return on Investment - how long it takes to get your capital investment back.
Roof mounted PV - the panels are mounted on rails on the roof which needs to be south facing to be optimal. Roof mounted cannot be used on a thatched roof, or around gables. Veluxes can also cause a problem. See Solar Tracking system below.
SEG - Smart Export Guarantee - launched January 2020, government backed initiative that requires some electricity suppliers to pay small scale generators, ie domestic users, for low-carbon electricity (up to a capacity of 5MW) which they export back to the National Grid. The amount paid per kWh only has to be more than 0p - so the amount to be made is small.
Smart Meter - an electronic device that monitors your energy usage and communicates directly with your provider. It eliminates the requirement to read your meter and supply the information yourself.
Solar Tracker - the panels are mounted on a frame, supported by a column, and they turn to face the sun all day - therefore producing a much higher output than static panels. Very useful when roof is thatched or has gables, veluxes, or faces the wrong way.
What is a kilowatt hour?
A kWh is a measure of how much energy you’re using. It doesn’t mean the number of kilowatts you’re using per hour. It is simply a unit of measurement that equals the amount of energy you would use if you kept a 1,000 watt appliance running for an hour:- if you switched on a 100 watt light bulb, it would take 10 hours to rack up 1 kWh of energy. Or a 2,000 watt appliance would use 1 kWh in just half an hour. While a 50 watt item could stay on for 20 hours before it used 1 kWh.
What else takes around 1 kilowatt hour?
It’s hard to be precise, because the similar appliances can have very different wattages, but here are some rough examples of 1 kWh:
Using a 10,000 watt electric shower for six minutes
Keeping an immersion heater (3,000 watts) on for 20 minutes
Cooking in a 2,000 watt oven for half an hour
An hour’s ironing with a 1,000 watt iron or 45 minutes with a 1,500 watt iron
Less than an hour using a dishwasher (1,000 - 1,500 watts)
Around three hours watching a plasma TV (280 - 450 watts)
Keeping a fridge-freezer (200 - 400 watts) on for about three hours
Keeping an electric blanket (130 - 200 watts) on all night
Using a laptop (20 - 50 watts) all day
Keeping a broadband router (7 - 10 watts) on for five days
What’s the difference between kWh and kW?
kW stands for kilowatt. A kilowatt is simply 1,000 watts, which is a measure of power. So, for example, the 10,000 watt electric shower in the top bullet point above could also be called a 10 kilowatt shower. A kilowatt hour (kWh) is a measure of energy. A 1,000 watt drill needs 1,000 watts (1 kW) of power to make it work, and uses 1 kWh of energy in an hour. That’s why, if you leave a TV or computer on standby, it is still using power and creating a kWh cost on your energy bill.
AD - Anaerobic Digestion
AIC - average interrupt capability
Ampere - a unit of electrical current
ASHP - Air Source Heat Pump
Azimuth angle - the angle between true south and the point on the horizon directly below the sun.
BIPV - Building integrated photovoltaics
BMS - battery management system
BSS - battery storage system
DC - direct current
DNO - Distribution Network Operator - operator of the electric power distribution system which delivers electricity to most end users.
EMS - energy management system
FiT - Feed in Tariff - a subsidy for installing solar which ended in April 2019.
Ground anchors/screws - very large screws used a with heavy base plate to mount a solar tracker safely, rather than digging a hole and pouring concrete.
Ground mounted solar PV - panels are mounted in a static aluminium frame in rows on the ground - most solar farms are like this.
GW - gigawatt - 1 billion watts = 1,000 megawatts
Inverter - An inverter is required to convert the direct current from panels into alternating current used for household appliances.
ISO - International Organisation for Standards, eg ISO9000 quality management
KW - Kilowatt
kWH - Kilowatt Hour
MCS - Microgeneration Certification Scheme - a quality assurance scheme that provides consumer protection for small scale renewable energy technologies such as PV, heat pumps etc. Can also apply to installers. Was started by the government but became independent in April 2018. Not compulsory and many installers no longer bother with it.
MW - Megawatt - 1,000 kilowatts or 1 million watts
MicroCHP - Micro combined heat and power
Microgrid - several solar arrays joined together to generate a larger amount of electricity
Microinverter - is a plug-and-play device that converts DC generated by a single panel to AC. A single micro inverter will be attached to each solar panel in the array, contrasting with conventional string inverters that are connected to multiple solar panels. Ideal solution if one or more panels is shade compromised as they avoid the rest of the panels being negatively affected.
NIC - National Inspection Council certification for electrical installation contractors
Optimiser - A solar panel optimiser is a device that can be added to one or all panels in an array . Its aim is to increase the output of a solar installation, by bypassing the shaded solar module which allows the system to operate to its full potential.
PCS - power conversion system, ie inverter
PD - permitted development (planning term)
PV - photo voltaic
PV array - an interconnected system of PV panels that function as a single electricity producing unit.
RHI - Renewable Heat Incentive
ROI - Return on Investment - how long it takes to get your capital investment back.
Roof mounted PV - the panels are mounted on rails on the roof which needs to be south facing to be optimal. Roof mounted cannot be used on a thatched roof, or around gables. Veluxes can also cause a problem. See Solar Tracking system below.
SEG - Smart Export Guarantee - launched January 2020, government backed initiative that requires some electricity suppliers to pay small scale generators, ie domestic users, for low-carbon electricity (up to a capacity of 5MW) which they export back to the National Grid. The amount paid per kWh only has to be more than 0p - so the amount to be made is small.
Smart Meter - an electronic device that monitors your energy usage and communicates directly with your provider. It eliminates the requirement to read your meter and supply the information yourself.
Solar Tracker - the panels are mounted on a frame, supported by a column, and they turn to face the sun all day - therefore producing a much higher output than static panels. Very useful when roof is thatched or has gables, veluxes, or faces the wrong way.
What is a kilowatt hour?
A kWh is a measure of how much energy you’re using. It doesn’t mean the number of kilowatts you’re using per hour. It is simply a unit of measurement that equals the amount of energy you would use if you kept a 1,000 watt appliance running for an hour:- if you switched on a 100 watt light bulb, it would take 10 hours to rack up 1 kWh of energy. Or a 2,000 watt appliance would use 1 kWh in just half an hour. While a 50 watt item could stay on for 20 hours before it used 1 kWh.
What else takes around 1 kilowatt hour?
It’s hard to be precise, because the similar appliances can have very different wattages, but here are some rough examples of 1 kWh:
Using a 10,000 watt electric shower for six minutes
Keeping an immersion heater (3,000 watts) on for 20 minutes
Cooking in a 2,000 watt oven for half an hour
An hour’s ironing with a 1,000 watt iron or 45 minutes with a 1,500 watt iron
Less than an hour using a dishwasher (1,000 - 1,500 watts)
Around three hours watching a plasma TV (280 - 450 watts)
Keeping a fridge-freezer (200 - 400 watts) on for about three hours
Keeping an electric blanket (130 - 200 watts) on all night
Using a laptop (20 - 50 watts) all day
Keeping a broadband router (7 - 10 watts) on for five days
What’s the difference between kWh and kW?
kW stands for kilowatt. A kilowatt is simply 1,000 watts, which is a measure of power. So, for example, the 10,000 watt electric shower in the top bullet point above could also be called a 10 kilowatt shower. A kilowatt hour (kWh) is a measure of energy. A 1,000 watt drill needs 1,000 watts (1 kW) of power to make it work, and uses 1 kWh of energy in an hour. That’s why, if you leave a TV or computer on standby, it is still using power and creating a kWh cost on your energy bill.