The arrangement, proportion, and design of windows in a building.

The discomfort or interference with visual perception when viewing a bright object against a dark background.

Ventilation that is created by the differences in the distribution of air pressures around a building. Air moves from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure with gravity and wind pressure affecting the airflow. The placement and control of doors ...

The sum of all the costs both recurring and nonrecurring, related to a product, structure, system, or service during its life span or specified time period.

Features and vegetation on the outside of or surrounding a building for aesthetics and energy conservation.

A mechanical/electrical device used to pull air out of an interior space; usually located in the highest location of a building, in the ceiling, and venting to the attic or directly to the outside.

A wood or gas burning heating appliance that fits into the opening or protrudes on to the hearth of a conventional fireplace.

The effect of cooling by the radiation of heat from a building to the night sky.

A device that removes contaminants, by mechanical filtration, from the fresh air stream before the air enters the living space. Filters can be installed as part of a heating/cooling system through which air flows for the purpose of removing particulates b ...

A type of heating system where heat, resulting when electric current flows through an "element" or conductor, such as Nichrome, which has a high resistance, is radiated to a room.

A thermal storage wall is a south-facing wall that is glazed on the outside. Solar heat strikes the glazing and is absorbed into the wall, which conducts the heat into the room over time. The walls are at least 8 in thick. Generally, the thicker the wall, ...

A device that tracks the movement of the sun; used to orient solar concentrating systems.

The practice of using a single meter to measure consumption and generation of electricity by a small generation facility (such as a house with a wind or solar photovoltaic system). The net energy produced or consumed is purchased from or sold to the gener ...

A device for converting continuous circular motion into reciprocating rectilinear motion.

A construction element used for ceiling support.

A unit of measurement for the ability of a material to retard the diffusion of water vapor at 73.4 F (23 C). A perm, short for permeance, is the number of grains of water vapor that pass through a square foot of material per hour at a differential vapor p ...

A group of wind turbines interconnected to a common utility system through a system of transformers, distribution lines, and (usually) one substation. Operation, control, and maintenance functions are often centralized through a network of computerized mo ...

A device for converting mechanical energy to electrical energy.

The processes that a work input/output system undergoes and in which the initial and final states are identical.

The quantity of heat produced to change a unit weight of a liquid to vapor with no change in temperature.