A controlled vocabulary is the least glamorous and most useful piece of infrastructure on a technical publication.
Free-form tags create thin archive pages and inconsistent units. A term list with a definition, a unit, a common misuse and an internal link target fixes both problems.
This first batch covers the geometry and control terms that appear in almost every tracker story on the site.
Why this entry exists
Five-term table
Each term gets a definition, its usual unit, the most common misuse, and the internal page it should link to. Definitions follow IEC terminology clauses rather than vendor marketing copy.
The framework
Unit and style rules
GWdc, GWp and MWp are not interchangeable. The style sheet fixes capitalisation and forbids Chinese-market units such as ten-thousand-tonne or yuan-per-tonne constructions in English copy.
Mapping to the data model
The controlled terms map to the site's technology taxonomy. An editor picks from the list instead of creating a new tag, which keeps archive pages above a useful content threshold.
Data box
| Field | Value as reported |
|---|---|
| Terms | 1P, 2P, GCR, backtracking, torque tube |
| Supporting terms | slew drive, stow, albedo, bifacial gain |
| Definition source | IEC 62817 terminology clauses; vendor technical manuals as cross-check |
| Style rule | GWdc / GWp / MWp kept distinct |
All figures above are quoted with the unit and reference period used by the primary source. They are reproduced here for reference, not independently re-measured.
How to use it in a tender or a brief: verification note
Definitions come from standard terminology clauses, not from marketing language. Where a vendor uses a term differently, the Wiki notes the variant rather than adopting it.
What to watch next
Adding wind-stow, hail-stow and terrain-following terms in the second glossary batch.
Primary sources
- IEC 62817 terminology clauses
- Vendor technical manuals (Nextpower, Array, GameChange, TrinaTracker)
- NREL / IEA PVPS terminology references
Researched and written by the solarrack.wiki editorial desk. Every figure in this article carries a source and a verification note; where a claim could not be confirmed against a primary document, it is labelled as such. Corrections: [email protected]
