Photovoltaics (PV), the ‘carbon‐free’ technology that converts sunlight directly into electricity, has grown dramatically in recent years. Unique among the renewable energies in its interaction with the built environment, PV is becoming part of the daily experience of citizens in developed countries as millions of PV modules are installed on rooftops and building facades. People living in sunshine countries will increasingly live in solar homes or receive their electricity from large PV power plants. Many governments around the world are now keen to promote renewable electricity as an essential part of the 21^st century’s energy mix, and PV is set for an exciting future.

This book is designed for students and professionals looking for a concise, authoritative, and up‐to‐date introduction to PV and its practical applications. I hope that it will also appeal to the large, and growing, number of thoughtful people who are fascinated by the idea of using solar cells to generate electricity and wish to understand their scientific principles. The book covers some challenging concepts in physics and electronics, but the tone is deliberately lighter than that of most academic texts, and there is comparatively little mathematics. I have included many colour photographs, gathered from around the World, to illustrate PV’s huge and diverse range of practical applications.

In more detail, Chapter 1 introduces PV’s scientific and historical context, suggests something of the magic of this new technology, and summarises its current status. The treatment of silicon solar cells in Chapter 2 includes material in semiconductor physics and quantum theory, described by a few key equations and supported by plenty of discussion. The new types of thin‐film cell that have entered the global PV market in recent years are also introduced. Chapter 3 covers the characteristics of PV modules and arrays, discusses potential problems of interconnection and shading, and outlines the various types of system that track the sun, with or without concentration. The two major categories of PV system, grid‐connected and stand‐alone, provide the material for Chapters 4 and 5 respectively, and Chapter 6 concludes the story with some of the most important economic and environmental issues surrounding PV’s remarkable progress.

Photovoltaic technology seeks to work with nature rather than to dominate or conquer it, satisfying our growing desire to live in tune with Planet Earth. I trust that this book will inspire as well as inform, making its own small contribution to an energy future increasingly based on ‘electricity from sunlight’.