Solar and battery quotes are full of technical shorthand that's rarely explained in plain language. This glossary covers the terms you'll actually encounter when reading a quote, a spec sheet, or an inverter monitoring app — defined clearly, without unnecessary jargon. Where a term has its own explainer on this site, it's linked.
AC Coupled — A battery configuration where the battery has its own dedicated inverter and connects to the home's AC (alternating current) wiring, separate from the solar system's own inverter. Common for retrofitting a battery onto an existing solar installation. (See AC-Coupled vs DC-Coupled Batteries.)
Anti-Islanding Protection — A safety feature built into every grid-connected inverter that automatically disconnects the system from the grid during a power outage, preventing it from feeding electricity into lines that utility workers may be repairing.
Bifacial Panel — A solar panel capable of generating electricity from both its front and rear surfaces, capturing reflected light off the ground or roof behind it as well as direct sunlight on the front.
Curtailment — The deliberate reduction of a solar system's export (or occasionally generation) below its full potential, usually enforced by the network operator or inverter export-limit settings to manage grid stability during periods of high solar output.
DC Coupled — A battery configuration where the battery connects directly to the solar system's DC (direct current) output, sharing a single hybrid inverter with the solar array, rather than using its own separate inverter.
Depth of Discharge (DoD) — The percentage of a battery's total capacity that has been used before recharging. A battery discharged from 100% down to 20% has undergone an 80% depth-of-discharge cycle.
Export Limit — The maximum rate, usually in kW, at which a solar system is permitted to send electricity back into the grid, set by the local network distributor for grid stability and safety.
Feed-in Tariff (FiT) — The rate, in cents per kilowatt-hour, that an electricity retailer credits a solar household for electricity exported to the grid. (See Understanding Feed-in Tariffs.)
Grid-Tied System — A solar system connected to, and reliant on, the electricity grid as its ultimate backstop, as distinct from a fully off-grid system with no grid connection at all.
Hybrid Inverter — An inverter capable of managing solar generation and battery charge/discharge from a single unit, rather than requiring a separate standalone inverter for each. Most modern DC-coupled battery systems use one. (See How a Hybrid Inverter Works.)
Inverter — The device that converts the direct current (DC) electricity produced by solar panels (or stored in a battery) into the alternating current (AC) electricity used by household appliances and the grid.
kW vs kWh — kW (kilowatt) measures the rate of power at a given instant — how much a system is producing or consuming right now. kWh (kilowatt-hour) measures energy over time. A 6.6kW solar system doesn't produce 6.6kWh every hour; its output in kWh varies through the day as sunlight conditions change.
LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) — A lithium-ion battery chemistry known for strong thermal stability and long cycle life, now the dominant chemistry choice for residential home battery storage. (See LFP vs NMC Battery Chemistry.)
MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracker) — The electronic circuitry inside a solar inverter that continuously adjusts to extract the maximum possible power from the solar array as sunlight conditions change throughout the day.
Net Metering — The standard billing arrangement in which only a solar household's surplus generation — what's left after the home's own consumption is met — is exported to and credited by the grid.
NMC (Nickel Manganese Cobalt) — A lithium-ion battery chemistry offering higher energy density than LFP, historically common in electric vehicles and some earlier-generation home batteries.
Orientation — The compass direction a solar panel array faces. In the Southern Hemisphere, north-facing arrays generally receive the most consistent daily sunlight, though east and west orientations can be deliberately chosen to shift generation earlier or later in the day.
PV (Photovoltaic) — The technology and effect by which certain materials, typically silicon, generate an electric current directly from exposure to sunlight — the fundamental mechanism behind every solar panel. (See How Does Solar Power Work?.)
Performance Warranty — A manufacturer's guarantee of a solar panel's minimum energy output, expressed as a percentage of its original rated capacity, at specific milestones across a stated term (commonly 25–30 years).
Round-Trip Efficiency — The percentage of energy that comes back out of a battery compared with the energy originally put in to charge it, accounting for conversion losses. A battery with 90% round-trip efficiency returns 9kWh of usable energy for every 10kWh used to charge it.
STC (Small-scale Technology Certificate) — A tradeable certificate created under the Australian federal government's Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme, generated based on a solar system's size and location, and typically assigned to the installer as an upfront point-of-sale discount rather than claimed separately by the homeowner. (More via the Clean Energy Regulator.)
String Inverter — An inverter design where multiple panels are wired together in a series "string," with all panels in that string sharing one inverter's MPPT tracking — as distinct from microinverters.
Time-of-Use (ToU) Tariff — An electricity pricing structure that charges different rates depending on the time of day electricity is consumed or exported, typically split into peak, shoulder and off-peak windows. (See Understanding Time-of-Use Tariffs.)
TOPCon — A newer generation of solar cell technology (Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact) offering higher efficiency and generally slower long-term degradation than older PERC cell designs.
Usable Capacity — The portion of a battery's total rated capacity that can actually be charged and discharged in normal operation, after accounting for the manufacturer's recommended depth-of-discharge limits reserved to protect battery longevity.
VPP (Virtual Power Plant) — A network of home batteries coordinated by a retailer or aggregator, which can be collectively charged or discharged to help balance grid supply and demand, with participating households typically compensated for the flexibility they provide. (See What Is a Virtual Power Plant?.)
Workmanship Warranty — A warranty issued by the installing company (not the equipment manufacturer) covering the quality of the physical installation — mounting, wiring, and roof-penetration waterproofing — commonly running 5 to 10 years.
Zero-Export System — A solar configuration, enforced via inverter settings and export-limiting hardware, that prevents any electricity from being exported to the grid at all — sometimes required where a network connection doesn't permit export, or where export approval is pending.
This glossary is kept current as terminology and technology evolve — bookmark it as a quick reference whenever you're reading a solar or battery quote and hit a term that isn't immediately clear.
Come across a term in your own quote that isn't covered here? Ask Blue Energy Solar, or call 0421 458 217.
