The tank of a water heater.

A term used to describe solar thermal, central receiver, power systems, where an array of reflectors focus sunlight onto a central receiver and absorber mounted on a tower.

A unit of pressure [hydraulic (liquid) or pneumatic (gas)] that does not include atmospheric pressure.

A layer of semiconductor material (as used in a solar photovoltaic device) whose properties are essentially those of the pure, undoped, material.

A chemical element that can be used as a fuel since it has a very high energy content.

Air that is returned to a heating or cooling appliance from a heated or cooled space.

The resistance between metallic contacts and the semiconductor.

A high R-value insulation product usually made from urethane that can be injected into wall cavities, or sprayed onto roofs or floors, where it expands and sets quickly.

A pre-cut layer of insulation applied around a water heater storage tank to reduce standby heat loss from the tank.

A vehicle with an engine capable of operating on two different types of fuels.

The period marked by successive crossing of the earth's meridian by the sun; the hour angle of the sun at a point of observance (apparent time) is corrected to true (solar) time by taking into account the variation in the earth's orbit and rate of rotatio ...

A component of a heat pump that reverses the refrigerant's direction of flow, allowing the heat pump to switch from cooling to heating or heating to cooling.

Steam available directly from a boiler under full pressure.

A single photovoltaic device.

Electromagnetic radiation whose wavelengths lie in the range from 0.75 micrometer to 1000 micrometers; invisible long wavelength radiation (heat) capable of producing a thermal or photovoltaic effect, though less effective than visible light.

A solar thermal electric central reciever power plant ("power tower") located in Barstow, California, and completed in 1981. The Solar One had a design capacity of 10,000 peak kilowatts, and was composed of a receiver located on the top of a tower surroun ...

Legislation authorizing a U.S. biomass and alcohol fuel program, and that authorized loan guarantees and price guarantees and purchase agreements for alcohol fuel production.

Water in vapor form; used as the working fluid in steam turbines and heating systems.

An arrangement of photovoltaic cells or material mounted on a rigid flat surface with the cells exposed freely to incoming sunlight.

Materials with high thermal energy storage capacity contained in or part of a building's walls, floors, or freestanding elements.