A raw material that can be converted to one or more products.

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 layer of semiconductor material, such as copper indium diselenide or gallium arsenide, a few microns or less in thickness, used to make solar photovoltaic cells.

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

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 battery-powered electrically driven vehicle.

A measure of the electrical resistance of a material equal to the resistance of a circuit in which the potential difference of 1 volt produces a current of 1 ampere.

The decomposition of organic material to alcohol, methane, etc., by organisms, such as yeast or bacteria, usually in the absence of oxygen.

A generic term for an electrical conductor.

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

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

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

A registered trademark name for houses built with tires, aluminum cans, and earth.

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.

A construction element that inhibits termites from entering building foundations and walls.

The wind speed with 50 percent probability of occurring.

A heat exchanger for recovering heat from flue gases for heating water or air.

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

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 turbine that is driven by high velocity jets of water or steam from a nozzle directed to vanes or buckets attached to a wheel. (A pelton wheel is an impulse hydroturbine).