The absolute centimeter-gram-second unit of force; that force that will impart to a free mass of one gram an acceleration of one centimeter per second per second.

A mound of dirt next to exterior walls to provide wind protection and insulation.

A long, underground metal or plastic pipe through which air is drawn. As air travels through the pipe it gives up some of its heat to the soil, and enters the house as cooler air.

Houses that have earth berms around exterior walls.

A type of heat pump that uses sealed horizontal or vertical pipes, buried in the ground, as heat exchangers through which a fluid is circulated to transfer heat.

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

An incorporated right, liberty, privilege, or use of another entity's property, distinct from ownership, without profit or compensation; a right-of-way.

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

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

A method for making sheets of polycrystalline silicon (for solar photovlotaic devices) in which molten silicon is drawn upward by capillary action through a mold.

The maximum load that a device is capable of carrying.

The amount of energy service or useful energy delivered per unit of energy input. Often used in reference to lighting systems, where the visible light output of a luminary is relative to power input; expressed in lumens per Watt; the higher the efficacy v ...

Under the First Law of Thermodynamics, efficiency is the ratio of work or energy output to work or energy input, and cannot exceed 100 percent. Efficiency under the Second Law of Thermodynamics is determined by the ratio of the theoretical minimum energy ...

A measure of the efficiency of an appliance's energy efficiency.

The ratio of the percentage change in the quantity of a good or service demanded to the percentage change in the price.

A condition that results from an imbalance between the number of protons and the number of electrons in a substance.

The path followed by electrons from a generation source, through an electrical system, and returning to the source.

The amount of work accomplished by electrical power, usually measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). One kWh is 1,000 Watts and is equal to 3,413 Btu.2.The energy of moving electrons.

An air heater in which air is blown over electric resistance heating coils.

A facility or piece of equipment that produces electricity.