A building energy auditing technique used to determine and/or locate air leaks in a building shell or envelope.

see Peak Power

The rate of heat production by a steady current in any part of an electrical circuit that is proportional to the resistance and to the square of the current, or, the internal energy of an ideal gas depends only on its temperature.

The heat absorbed or released when a substance undergoes a change in temperature.

The approximate energy producing capacity of a power plant, under specified conditions, usually during periods of highest load.

A compound used to make certain types of solar photovoltaic cells.

A type of wind turbine in which the axis of rotation is perpendicular to the wind stream and the ground.

A turbine that uses water pressure to rotate its blades; the primary types are the Pelton wheel, for high heads (pressure); the Francis turbine, for low to medium heads; and the Kaplan for a wide range of heads. Primarily used to power an electric generat ...

The process of transmitting electricity over one or more separately owned electric transmission and distribution systems. (See Wholesale and Retail Wheeling.)

An architectural design (also known as the double envelope house), sometimes called a "house-within-a-house," that employs a double envelope with a continuous airspace of at least 6 to 12 inches on the north wall, south wall, roof, and floor, achieved by ...

Waste material from households and businesses in a community that is not regulated as hazardous.

The process in which a solid fuel is converted into a gas; also known as pyrolitic distillation or pyrolysis. Production of a clean fuel gas makes a wide variety of power options available.

Houses that have earth berms around exterior walls.

A unit of electrical capacitance; the capacitance of a capacitor between the plates of which there appears a difference of 1 Volt when it is charged by one coulomb of electricity.

Draft that is caused by temperature differences in the air.

A type of insulation, composed of small diameter pink, yellow, or white glass fibers, formed into blankets or batts, or used in loose-fill and blown-in applications.

A term used for a wind energy conversion device that produces electricity; typically having one, two, or three blades.

An air conditioner consisting of one or more assemblies that move, clean, cool, and dehumidify air.

The visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths from 0.4 to 0.76 microns

Under the First Law of Thermodynamics, efficiency is the ratio of work or energy output to work or energy input, and cannot exceed 100 percent. Efficiency under the Second Law of Thermodynamics is determined by the ratio of the theoretical minimum energy ...