A room that faces south (in the northern hemisphere), or a small structure attached to the south side of a house.

The production of electrical current from light.

A class of energy producer that produces both heat and electricity from a single fuel.

ICS solar systems are also called "batch" or "breadbox" water heaters. They combine the collector and storage tank in one unit. The sun shining into the collector strikes the storage tank directly, heating the water. The large thermal mass of the water, p ...

Sensible and latent heat contained in combustion gases and vapor emitted to the atmosphere.

A type of hydroelectric facility that uses the river flow with very little alteration and little or no impoundment of the water.

A solar energy system that produces electricity with a PV module, and collects thermal energy from the module for heating. There are no commercially available systems available (as of 11/97).

An engine in which fuel is burned (or heat is applied) to the outside of a cylinder; a Stirling engine.

A solar energy collection device consisting of containers of water located on a roof that absorb solar energy during the day so that the heat can be used at night or that cools a building by evaporation at night.

A type of home mortgage that takes into account the energy savings of a home that has cost-effective energy saving improvements that will reduce energy costs thereby allowing the homeowner to more income to the mortgage payment. A borrower can qualify for ...

A combustion heating appliance in which heat is captured from the burning of a fuel for distribution, comprised mainly of a combustion chamber and heat exchanger.

The process of modifying a building's structure.

The quantity of heat required to change the temperature of one unit weight of a material by one degree.

A solid-state electrical device that converts light directly into direct current electricity of voltage-current characteristics that are a function of the characteristics of the light source and the materials in and design of the device. Solar photovoltai ...

When the temperature of the hydrothermal liquids is over 350 F (177 C), flash-steam technology is generally employed. In these systems, most of the liquid is flashed to steam. The steam is separated from the remaining liquid and used to drive a turbine ge ...

A thermostat that can be set to automatically lower temperatures in an unoccupied house and raise them again before the occupant returns.

In reference to a wind turbine, a condition when the rotor stops turning.

An electrochemical device that converts chemical energy directly into electricity.

A device that reduces heat loss at night and during cloudy periods and heat gain during the day in warm weather. A movable insulator could be an insulative shade, shutter panel, or curtain.

The average amount of solar radiation that reaches the earth's upper atmosphere on a surface perpendicular to the sun's rays; equal to 1353 Watts per square meter or 492 Btu per square foot.