In a solar photovoltaic device, an n-type dopant, such as phosphorus, that puts an additional electron into an energy level very near the conduction band; this electron is easily exited into the conduction band where it increases the electrical conductivi ...

Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) is an ether compound used as a gasoline blending component to raise the oxygen content of gasoline. MTBE is made by combining isobutylene (from various refining and chemical processes) and methanol (usually made from nat ...

A type of High-Intensity Discharge (HID) lamp that uses sodium under high pressure as the primary light-producing element. These high efficiency lights produce a golden white color and are used for interior industrial applications, such as in warehouses a ...

A smokestack or flue for exhausting the products of combustion from a combustion appliance.

The gaseous byproducts of the combustion of a fuel.

A column of gas at standard conditions of temperature and pressure (32 degrees Fahrenheit and one atmosphere).

The outer casing of a window that sits in a designated opening of a structure and holds the window panes in place.

A small groove scribed into the surface of a solar photovoltaic cell which is filled with metal for contacts.

Fuels formed in the ground from the remains of dead plants and animals. It takes millions of years to form fossil fuels. Oil, natural gas, and coal are fossil fuels.

The process of burning; the oxidation of a material by applying heat, which unites oxygen with a material or fuel.

An electrically charged atom or group of atoms that has lost or gained electrons; a loss makes the resulting particle positively charged; a gain makes the particle negatively charged.

As defined by the Comprehensive National Energy Act of 1992 (or the Energy Policy Act; EPAct): any organic matter from a plant which is planted for the exclusive purpose of being used to produce energy." This does not include wood or agricultural wastes o ...

The value or purchasing power of a dollar that has not been reduced to a common basis of constant purchasing power, but instead reflects anticipated future inflation; when used in computations the assumed inflation rate must be stated.

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 ...

The temperature that a system is designed to maintain (inside) or operate against (outside) under the most extreme conditions.

A high-intensity discharge lamp type that uses mercury and several halide additives as light-producing elements. These lights have the best Color Rendition Index (CRI) of the High-Intensity Discharge lamps. They can be used for commercial interior lightin ...

A system where heat is supplied to areas of a building from a single appliance through a network of ducts or pipes.

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.

Materials that prevent or slow down the movement of heat.

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