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Solar glossary for Cyprus: equipment, grid and paperwork

Quotes, contracts and letters from the authorities are written in Greek. Every entry here gives a short explanation and the spelling you will meet in the document. The list is not complete and it is not an official source.

Equipment: panels, inverters, batteries

  • Alternating current, AC

    In documents and quotes
    Εναλλασσόμενο ρεύμα (AC)
    In English
    Alternating current, AC

    The current the building and the grid work on. Everything after the inverter is the AC side, up to the meter and the connection point.

  • Battery energy storage

    In documents and quotes
    Σύστημα αποθήκευσης ενέργειας
    In English
    Battery energy storage

    A battery that keeps part of the daytime generation for the evening or for an outage. It is a separate part of the project, with its own line in the quote and its own paperwork.

    See alsoWhere the electricity comes from after sunset

  • Bifacial module

    In documents and quotes
    Πλαίσιο διπλής όψης (bifacial)
    In English
    Bifacial module

    A module that also collects the light reaching its back side. How much this adds depends on what lies under the modules and on the gap the mounting leaves, not on the module alone.

    See alsoRoof tilt and orientation: how geometry changes output

  • Degradation

    In documents and quotes
    Υποβάθμιση απόδοσης
    In English
    Degradation

    The slow yearly loss of module output. The datasheet states it as a share per year, and the performance warranty is written against that figure.

    See alsoPanel lifespan, degradation and care

  • Direct current, DC

    In documents and quotes
    Συνεχές ρεύμα (DC)
    In English
    Direct current, DC

    The current the modules produce. Everything between the modules and the inverter is the DC side, and the quote lists its cables, switches and protection separately.

  • Inverter

    In documents and quotes
    Μετατροπέας τάσης (inverter)
    In English
    Inverter

    The device that turns the direct current of the modules into the alternating current the building and the grid work on. Cyprus connection documents call it a voltage converter and add the English word in brackets.

    See alsoHow a home solar system works in Cyprus

  • Microinverter

    In documents and quotes
    Μικρομετατροπέας (microinverter)
    In English
    Microinverter

    A small inverter fitted to one module or to a pair of them instead of one inverter for the whole system, so each module works on its own. The word comes from the market, not from the connection rules.

  • Mounting system

    In documents and quotes
    Βάσεις στήριξης
    In English
    Mounting system

    The rails, clamps and anchors that hold the modules on the roof. Connection documents set separate requirements for them and ask for a warranty certificate from the manufacturer.

    See alsoRoof tilt and orientation: how geometry changes output

  • Peak power, kWp

    In documents and quotes
    Ισχύς αιχμής, kWp
    In English
    Peak power, kWp

    The size of a system measured under standard test light, not what it produces on a given day. Quotes and applications describe an installation by this number.

    See alsoPeak sun hours: what the number actually means

  • Performance warranty

    In documents and quotes
    Εγγύηση απόδοσης
    In English
    Performance warranty

    A separate promise that after a stated number of years a module will still give at least a stated share of its rated power. Read it next to the product warranty: the two periods rarely match.

    See alsoPanel lifespan, degradation and care

  • Photovoltaic module

    In documents and quotes
    Φωτοβολταϊκό πλαίσιο
    In English
    Photovoltaic module

    One panel of solar cells. A rooftop system is assembled from several of them wired together, and the quote usually names the model, the number of modules and the power of a single one.

    See alsoHow a home solar system works in Cyprus

  • Power optimiser

    In documents and quotes
    Βελτιστοποιητής ισχύος
    In English
    Power optimiser

    A box mounted behind a module that keeps this one module at its own best working point. It is offered where part of the roof is shaded or the modules face different directions.

    See alsoRoof tilt and orientation: how geometry changes output

  • Product warranty

    In documents and quotes
    Εγγύηση προϊόντος
    In English
    Product warranty

    The promise of the manufacturer to replace or repair a faulty item within a period. It says nothing about how much the module will still produce at the end of that period.

  • Residual current device, RCD

    In documents and quotes
    Συσκευή διαφυγής ρεύματος (RCD)
    In English
    Residual current device, RCD

    A protective switch that breaks the circuit when current leaks to earth. Cyprus connection rules name the type of device required on the side of a solar installation.

  • Solar water heater

    In documents and quotes
    Ηλιακός θερμοσίφωνας
    In English
    Solar water heater

    A roof collector with a tank that heats water directly from the sun. It makes no electricity and belongs to a support scheme separate from photovoltaics.

    See alsoWhich support schemes are open

  • Temperature coefficient

    In documents and quotes
    Θερμοκρασιακός συντελεστής ισχύος
    In English
    Temperature coefficient

    How much module output falls for every degree it heats above the test conditions. It matters in Cyprus, because a roof in summer is far hotter than the laboratory.

    See alsoPanel lifespan, degradation and care

  • Thermosiphon system

    In documents and quotes
    Θερμοσιφωνικό σύστημα
    In English
    Thermosiphon system

    A solar water heater in which the water moves by itself, because warm water rises. No pump is needed, which is why the tank sits above the collector.

Connection and settlement with the grid

  • Aggregator

    In documents and quotes
    Φορέας σωρευτικής εκπροσώπησης
    In English
    Aggregator

    A licensed market party that gathers the output of many small producers and represents them on the electricity market. It is one of the routes open for the surplus.

    See alsoWhat happens to surplus electricity

  • Bi-directional meter

    In documents and quotes
    Μετρητής αμφίδρομης μέτρησης
    In English
    Bi-directional meter

    A meter that counts electricity in both directions: what the building takes from the grid and what it sends back. Connection documents call the whole assembly the metering arrangement.

  • Kilowatt-hour, kWh

    In documents and quotes
    Κιλοβατώρα, kWh
    In English
    Kilowatt-hour, kWh

    The unit of energy on the electricity bill: one kilowatt for one hour. Generation, consumption and any settlement with the grid are counted in it.

  • Net billing

    In documents and quotes
    Συμψηφισμός λογαριασμών (net billing)
    In English
    Net billing

    A scheme in which the surplus is settled in money on the bill instead of in kilowatt-hours. In the Greek documents it is called the settlement of accounts.

    See alsoWhat happens to surplus electricity

  • Net metering

    In documents and quotes
    Συμψηφισμός μετρήσεων (net metering)
    In English
    Net metering

    A scheme in which generation fed to the grid is set off against consumption in kilowatt-hours. It is closed to new applications, and the rules article says what replaced it.

    See alsoWhat happens to surplus electricity

  • Self-consumption

    In documents and quotes
    Ιδία κατανάλωση
    In English
    Self-consumption

    The part of the generation the building uses at the moment it is produced. Since 2026 new applications in Cyprus are connected under a self-consumption regime.

    See alsoWhat happens to surplus electricity

  • Surplus electricity

    In documents and quotes
    Πλεονάζουσα ενέργεια
    In English
    Surplus electricity

    Generation the building does not use at that moment. What may be done with it is set by the scheme the installation is connected under, not by the equipment.

    See alsoWhat happens to surplus electricity

Documents, applications and permits

  • Category A1

    In documents and quotes
    Κατηγορία A1
    In English
    Category A1

    The general photovoltaic category of the registry list published by the renewable energy fund. The catalogue on this site is built from that list.

    See alsoWhich support schemes are open

  • Connection offer

    In documents and quotes
    Προσφορά όρων σύνδεσης
    In English
    Connection offer

    The document in which the network operator states the terms on which an installation may be connected and operated. Work starts once it is accepted, not once the quote is signed.

  • Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority, CERA

    In documents and quotes
    Ρυθμιστική Αρχή Ενέργειας Κύπρου (ΡΑΕΚ)
    In English
    Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority, CERA

    The independent regulator of the energy market. It sets the rules of the schemes under which a rooftop installation may offset or sell its surplus.

    See alsoWhat happens to surplus electricity

  • Distribution system operator, DSO

    In documents and quotes
    Διαχειριστής Συστήματος Διανομής (ΔΣΔ)
    In English
    Distribution system operator, DSO

    The role that runs the low and medium voltage network a rooftop system connects to. In Cyprus this role belongs to the state electricity organisation.

  • Electricity Authority of Cyprus, EAC

    In documents and quotes
    Αρχή Ηλεκτρισμού Κύπρου (ΑΗΚ)
    In English
    Electricity Authority of Cyprus, EAC

    The state electricity organisation. It runs the distribution network, issues the connection terms and installs the meter, so its letters decide when an installation may start working.

  • Installer registry

    In documents and quotes
    Μητρώο εγκαταστατών
    In English
    Installer registry

    The state list of companies registered to install small renewable energy systems. Being on it means the company is recorded there: it is not a licence, not an inspection of the work and not a recommendation.

  • VAT number

    In documents and quotes
    Αριθμός εγγραφής Φ.Π.Α.
    In English
    VAT number

    The tax registration number of a company. It stands in the registry record and on the quote, and it is the field that tells one company from another with a similar name.

Grants and money

  • Grant scheme

    In documents and quotes
    Σχέδιο χορηγιών
    In English
    Grant scheme

    A published set of conditions under which the fund covers part of what an installation costs. Every scheme has its own category, its own dates and its own page, and the fund opens and closes them.

    See alsoWhich support schemes are open

  • Payback period

    In documents and quotes
    Χρόνος απόσβεσης
    In English
    Payback period

    The time in which the saving from an installation adds up to what it cost. It is a calculation, not a property of the equipment: it moves with the tariff and with how much you use during the day.

  • Renewable energy fund (RESECFUND)

    In documents and quotes
    Ταμείο ΑΠΕ και ΕΞ.Ε
    In English
    Renewable energy fund (RESECFUND)

    The state fund that publishes the support schemes for renewable energy and energy saving, and the registry list of installers. The amounts and the deadlines live in its catalogue.

    See alsoWhich support schemes are open

  • Vulnerable household

    In documents and quotes
    Ευάλωτο νοικοκυριό
    In English
    Vulnerable household

    A category of applicant that some support schemes address separately. Who counts as one is defined by the scheme itself, not by the installer.

    See alsoWhich support schemes are open

Open the rules sectionOpen the catalogue