Glossary

Terms for Architecture, Green Building & Energy

This glossary includes more than 300 solar terms, as well as hundreds of additional sustainable design and construction terms.

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Thermal Radiation

Definition: Thermal radiation is composed of all wavelengths of light; however most of the energy of the thermal radiation of objects at room temperature is in the infrared part of the spectrum according to Wien's displacement law. As with all electromagnetic radiation, it requires no medium in which to travel. The amount of energy radiated by an object is proportional its surface temperature and its emissivity. Any object above Absolute Zero radiates thermal radiation. As all objects radiate energy towards one another, the important consideration is the net direction of energy flow.