Glossary

Terms for Green Architecture, Building & Energy

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

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z All

A-weighting

Absorber

Absorption

Accelerated Depreciation (Wind)

Acceptable Indoor Air Quality

Activation Voltage(s)

Active Solar Heating

Active Solar System

Active Solar Water Heater

Aerobic Wastewater Treatment

AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency)

Aggregation (Wind)

Agricultural By-products

Agricultural Fiber

Agricultural Prime Farmland

Air Change Effectiveness (ACE)

Air Economizer

Air Mass (sometimes Called Air Mass Ratio)

Airborne Pollutant

Allergen

Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) (Wind)

Ambient Lighting

Ambient Temperature

Amorphous Semiconductor

Amorphous Silicon

Amperage Interrupt Capability (AIC)

Anemometry Equipment (Wind)

Angle Of Incidence

Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency

Annual Solar Savings

Anode

Antireflection Coating

Array Operating Voltage

Artificial Sky

Asbestos

Asbestos Management Plan

ASHRAE

Asset/Equity Ratio (Wind)

Atrium

Attractive Nuisance (Wind)

Automated Natural Ventilation

Battery Available Capacity

Battery Capacity

Battery Cell

Battery Cycle Life

Battery Energy Capacity

Battery Energy Storage

Battery Life

Bead Wall

Berming

BESTEST (Building Energy Simulation Test)

Biological Contaminants

Biological Waste Treatment

Biome

BIPV (Building-Integrated Photovoltaics)

Btu (British Thermal Unit)

Btu/h (British Thermal Units Per Hour)

Buffer Space

Building Envelope

Building Pressurization

Building Related Illness

Building Science

Building-related Illness (BRI)

Built Environment

Business Metrics (Wind)

Bypass Diode

CABO (Council Of American Building Officials)

Cadmium (Cd)

Cadmium Telluride (CdTe)

Captive Electrolyte Battery

Cellulose Insulation With Borates

Cementitious Foam Insulation

Ceramic

Certified Sustainably Managed Wood

Certified Wood Products

Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD)

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's)

Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs)

Cleavage Of Lateral Epitaxial Films For Transfer (CLEFT)

Combined Light Pipe And Thermal Chimney

Commercial Scale Wind

Commissioning

Community Wind

Community-Based Energy Development (C-BED) (Wind)

Conduction Band (or Conduction Level)

Conductor

Constructed Wetland

Construction, Demolition And Renovation Waste Management Pla

Construction/ Renovation Indoor Air Quality Management Plan

Contact Resistance

Contamination (also Contaminated Site)

Convection

Conversion Efficiency

Converter

Cooling Load Requirement

COP (Coefficient Of Performance)

Copper Indium Diselenide (CuInSe2, Or CIS)

Cost-of-Service Ratemaking

Covenant

Coverage Ratio

Cradle-to-grave Analysis

CRI

Criteria Air Pollutants

Crystalline Silicon

Cullet

Current At Maximum Power (Imp)

Cut-off Luminaire Angle

Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR)

Debt Vs. Equity

Debt-to-Capital Ratio

Demand Control Ventilation

Demand-controlled Ventilation

Demand-controlled Ventilation (DCV) CO2-based

Demand-Side Management (DSM)

Dendrite

Dendritic Web Technique

Depletion Zone

Depreciation

Depth Of Discharge (DOD)

Direct Beam Radiation

Distributed Energy Resources (DER)

Distributed Generation

Distributed Power

Distributed Systems

Distribution Cooperative

Drainage Plane Or Water Resistant Barrier (WRB)

Drift Eliminator

Drip Irrigation

Drought-resistant Plants

Dry Cell

Dual Line Feed (Wind)

Earth Sheltered Design

Earth Tube

Earth's Thermal Energy

Edge-Defined Film-Fed Growth (EFG)

EEM (Energy Efficient Mortgage) (USA)

EER (Energy Efficiency Ratio)

EF (Energy Factor)

Effective Aperture Value

Electrical Permitting (Wind)

Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs)

Energy Contribution Potential

Energy Density

Energy Levels

Energy Modeling

Energy Policy Act Of 1992 (NEPA)

Energy Policy Act Of 2005

Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV)

ENERGY STAR® Home

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

Environmental Purchasing

Environmental Quality Board

Environmentally Preferable

EPAct (Energy Policy Act Of 1992)

Evacuated Tube Solar Collector

Existing Buildings

Exterior Grade Plywood

Extrinsic Semiconductor

Farm Bill, Energy Title, Section 9006

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)

Field Impact Insulation Class (FIIC)

Fill Factor

Finger-jointed Lumber

Flat-Plate Photovoltaics (PV)

Fossil Fuel Depletion

Gallium Arsenide (GaAs)

Gassing

Gassing Current

Gel-Type Battery

Generation And Transmission Cooperative (G&T)

Geographic Information System (GIS)

Geotextiles

Geothermal Heat Exchange Technology

Gigawatt (GW)

Glare

Global Warming

Global Warming Potential

Heat Recovery Systems

Heating Load Requirement

Height (Wind)

HEPA Filter

HERS (Home Energy Rating System)

High Quality Duct System

High Voltage Disconnect

High Voltage Disconnect Hysteresis

High-efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) Filter

Hole

Homojunction

HSPF (Heating Season Performance Factor):

Hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC)

Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon

I Joists

I-Type Semiconductor

I-V Curve

Impact Isolation Class (IIC)

Impervious Area

Incident Light

Independent Power Producer (IPP)

Independent System Operator (ISO)

Indigenous Materials

Indirect Lighting

Indium Oxide

Indoor Pollution At-source

Installation Costs (Wind)

Insulation

Integrated Design

Integrated Pest Management

Interconnect

Interconnection

Interconnection Agreement

Interior Zone

Internal Rate Of Return (IRR)

Intrinsic Layer

Intrinsic Semiconductor

Invasive Vegetation

Inverter

Investor-Owned Utility (IOU)

Ion

Irradiance

Irrigation

IRS Private Letter Rulings (Wind)

Kitchen Recycling Center

Landowner Wind Energy Association

Life Cycle (materials)

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Life Cycle Cost

Life Cycle Impact Assessment

Light-Induced Defects

Lighting (Wind)

Lighting Power Density

Line Of Sight

Line-Commutated Inverter

Liquid Electrolyte Battery

Low Pressure Drop High Efficiency Air Filters

Low Voltage Cutoff (LVC)

Low Voltage Disconnect

Low Voltage Disconnect Hysteresis

Maintenance-Free Battery

Majority Carrier

Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)

Maximum Power Point (MPP)

Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT)

Maximum Power Tracking

MEC (Model Energy Code)

Meteorological Tower (

Methane: (CH4)

Micro-climate

Microbial Contamination

Microgroove

Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV); ASHRAE 52.2-1999

Minnesota Flip (Wind)

Minority Carrier

Minority Carrier Lifetime

Mixed-use

Modified Accelerated Cost-Recovery System (MACRS)

Multi-Stage Controller

Multicrystalline

Multijunction Device

Multiplier Effect (Wind)

Municipal Utility ("Muni")

Nameplate Capacity (Wind)

National Electrical Code (NEC)

National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA)

Native Vegetation

Naturalized Landscape

Net Metering And Net Billing

Net Present Value

Net Zero Energy Building

Network Resource (Wind)

Nickel Cadmium Battery

Non-Utility Generator (NUG)

Normal Operating Cell Temperature (NOCT)

NOx

O&M (Operations And Maintenance) Agreement

Open-Circuit Voltage (Voc)

Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS)

Pad Mount Transformer

Passive Downdraft Evaporative Cooling

Passive Heating

Passive Income

Passive Solar Water Heater

Passive Tax Appetite

Passive Ventilation

Payments-In-Lieu-of-Taxes (PILOT)

Permits Required (Wind)

Photoelectrochemical Cell

Photon

Photovoltaic (PV) Array

Photovoltaic (PV) Cell

Photovoltaic (PV) Conversion Efficiency

Photovoltaic (PV) Device

Photovoltaic (PV) Effect

Photovoltaic (PV) Generator

Photovoltaic (PV) Module

Photovoltaic (PV) Panel

Photovoltaic (PV) System

Photovoltaic Panels (PVs)

Photovoltaic(s) (PV)

Photovoltaic-Thermal (PV/T) System

Physical Vapor Deposition

Polycrystalline Silicon

Post-consumer Recycled Content

Potable Water

Potent Industrial Greenhouse Gases

Power Conditioning

Power Conditioning Equipment

Power Conversion Efficiency

Power Curve (Wind)

Power Density

Power Factor (PF)

Power Purchase Agreement (Wind)

Pre-consumer Recycled Content

Previously-developed Area

Primary Battery

Pro Forma

Pro Rata

Production Tax Credit (PTC)

Programmable Thermostat

Project Phasing

Projected Area

Public Utility Commission (PUC), Public Services Commission

Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA)

Pulse-Width-Modulated (PWM) Wave Inverter

Radon Moderate Risk Area

Rainscreen

Rated Battery Capacity

Rated Module Current (A)

Rated Power

Rating Class

Reactive Power

Reactive Power Support

Renewable Energy Credits (RECs)

Renewable Energy Payment

Renewable Energy Production Incentive (REPI)

Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS)/Renewable Electricity Sta

Reserve Capacity

Resistance (R)

Resistive Voltage Drop

RESNET (Residential Energy Services Network)

Restructuring

Reused Material

Reverse Current Protection

Ribbon (Photovoltaic) Cells

Root Mean Square (RMS)

Rural Electrification Administration (REA)

Sacrificial Anode

Satellite Power System (SPS)

Schottky Barrier

Scribing

Sealed Battery

Seasonal Depth Of Discharge

Secondary Battery

SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio)

Shading Coefficient (SC)

Shadow Flicker (Wind)

Shallow Trench System

Shallow-Cycle Battery

Shelf Life Of Batteries

Short-Circuit Current (Isc)

Shunt Controller

Shunt Regulator

Sick Building Syndrome (SBS)

Siemens Process

Signage (Wind)

Signal Interference (Wind)

Significant Trees

Significant Vegetation

Silicon (Si)

Sine Wave

Sine Wave Inverter

Single-Crystal Silicon

Single-Stage Controller

Solar Aquatic Waste System

Solar Heat Gain Coefficient

Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC)

Solar Noon

Solar Panel

Solar Radiation

Solar Reflectance Index

Solar Resource

Solar Spectrum

Solar Thermal Electric Systems

Solar-Grade Silicon

Sound Power (Wind)

Sound Pressure

Sound Transmission Class (STC)

Staebler-Wronski Effect

Stand-Alone System

Stand-Off Mounting

Standard Reporting Conditions (SRC)

Standard Test Conditions (STC)

Standby Current

Starved Electrolyte Cell

Sub-surface Irrigation

Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES)

System Benefits Charge (SBC)

System Operating Voltage

Temperature Compensation

Thermophotovoltaic Cell (TPV)

Thick-Crystalline Materials

Thin Film

Thin Film Photovoltaic Module

Three-Phase Distribution Or Transmission Lines

Total Harmonic Distortion

Total Internal Reflection

Tracking Array

Transformer

Transmission

Transpired Solar Air Heater

Ultraviolet Radiation (UV)

Umbra

Unbundling

Underground Feeder (UF)

Underground Service Entrance (USE)

Undeveloped Area

Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)

Urban Village

Utility-Interactive Inverter

Vacuum Evaporation

Vacuum Zero

Valence Band

Valence Level Energy/Valence State

Vapor Barrier

Variable Air Volume System

Variable-air-volume (VAV)

Varistor

Vented Cell

Ventilation Path

Vertical Multijunction (VMJ) Cell

Vestibule

Visible Transmittance

Visual Light Transmission

VOC

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)

Volt (V)

Voltage

Voltage At Maximum Power (Vmp)

Waste Reduction And Recycling Plan

Wet-cooling Tower Automated Blowdown System

Wet-cooling Tower Conductivity Probes

Zero Energy Building (ZEB)

Zero Energy Cost Building

Zero Energy Emissions Building

Zero Energy Grid-Tied Building

Zero Energy Home (ZEH)

Zero Energy Site Building

Zero Energy Source Building

Zone Area

Zoning (Wind)