A national trade association of solar energy equipment manufacturers, retailers, suppliers, installers, and consultants.

A type of solar thermal system where sunlight is concentrated by a curved reflector onto a pipe containing a working fluid that can be used for process heat or to produce electricity. The world's largest solar thermal electric power plants use solar troug ...

The amount of energy produced as a percentage of the amount of energy consumed.

A type of anaerobic digester that has a horizontal tank in which a constant volume of material is added and forces material in the tank to move through the tank and be digested.

The ratio of the sum of the noncoincidental maximum demands of two or more loads to their coincidental maximum demands for the same period.

A method of financial and economic analysis used to determine present and future values of investments or expenses.

A measure of the unavailable or unusable energy in a system; energy that cannot be converted to another form.

The type of alternative current generated by alternating current generators, rotary inverters, and solid-state inverters.

A device that converts high-pressure steam, produced in a boiler, into mechanical energy that can then be used to produce electricity by forcing blades in a cylinder to rotate and turn a generator shaft.

Strips of material used to separate multiple panes of glass within the windows.

The fine particulate matter entrained in the flue gases of a combustion power plant.

The total distribution of electromagnetic radiation emanating from the sun. The different regions of the solar spectrum are described by their wavelength range. The visible region extends from about 390 to 780 nanometers (a nanometer is one billionth of o ...

The monochromatic irradiance of a surface per unit bandwidth at a particular wavelength, usually expressed in Watts per square meter-nanometer bandwidth.

The process of controlling indoor moisture levels and condensation.

A value used to estimate interior air cooling requirements (load) calculated as the number of degrees per day (over a specified period) that the daily average temperature is above 65 degrees Fahrenheit (or some other, specified base temperature). The dail ...

The damping of interior temperature fluctuations by massive construction.

The lower or net heat of combustion for a fuel that assumes that all products of combustion are in a gaseous state. (See Net Heating Value below.)

Usually refers to ethanol to 160 to 200 proof.

A commonly used analysis for reporting fuel properties; may be on a dry (moisture free) basis, as "fired", or on an ash and moisture free basis. Fractions usually reported include: volatile matter, fixed carbon, moisture, ash, and heating value (higher he ...

A solar photovoltaic device with a specified area.