Green energy comes from natural sources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, plants, algae and geothermal heat. These energy resources are renewable, meaning they're naturally replenished. In contrast, fossil fuels are a finite resource that take mil Read More...
The rate of energy transfer equivalent to one ampere under an electrical pressure of one volt. One watt equals 1/746 horsepower, or one joule per second. It is the product of Voltage and Current (amperage). Read More...
A windmill is a mill that converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades.The majority of modern windmills take the form of wind turbines used to generate electricity, or windpumps used to pump water, eithe Read More...
That portion of supply air that is drawn from outside, plus any recirculated air that has been treated to maintain a desired air quality. Read More...
Energy available from the movement of the wind across a landscape caused by the heating of the atmosphere, earth, and oceans by the sun. Read More...
The concept of capturing and converting the energy available in the motion of ocean waves to energy. Read More...
A device for converting the flow of a fluid (air, steam, water, or hot gases) into mechanical motion. Read More...
A device consisting of two dissimilar conductors with their ends connected together. When the two junctions are at different temperatures, a small voltage is generated. Read More...
Materials that store heat & material's resistance to change in temperature. Objects with high thermal mass absorb and retain heat. Read More...
Transmit high-voltage electricity from the transformer to the electric distribution system. Read More...
The power available from the rise and fall of ocean tides. A tidal power plant works on the principal of a dam or barrage that captures water in a basin at the peak of a tidal flow, then directs the water through a hydroelectric turbine as the tide e Read More...
A hydropower facility that stores water in a reservoir during high-inflow periods to augment water during low-inflow periods. Storage projects allow the flow releases and power production to be more flexible and dependable. Many hydropower project op Read More...
Any fuel that is in solid form, such as wood, peat, lignite, coal, and manufactured fuels such as pulverized coal, coke, charcoal, briquettes, pellets, etc. Read More...
Electromagnetic energy transmitted from the sun (solar radiation). The amount that reaches the earth is equal to one billionth of total solar energy generated, or the equivalent of about 420 trillion kilowatt-hours. Read More...
A device used to collect, absorb, and transfer solar energy to a working fluid. Flat plate collectors are the most common type of collectors used for solar water or pool heating systems. Read More...
A window located on the roof of a structure to provide interior building spaces with natural daylight, warmth, and ventilation. Read More...
One layer of glass in a window frame. It has very little insulating value (R-1) and provides only a thin barrier to the outside and can account for considerable heat loss and gain. Read More...
In reference to solar photovoltaic devices, a material that is composed of a single crystal or a few large crystals. Read More...
A chemical element, of atomic number 14, that is semi-metallic, and an excellent semiconductor material used in solar photovoltaic devices; commonly found in sand. Read More...
The apparent angle of the sun north or south of the earth's equatorial plane. The earth's rotation on its axis causes a daily change in the declination. Read More...
An electrical load used to safely use excess generated power when not needed for its primary uses. A shunt load in a residential photovoltaic system might be domestic water heating, such that when power is not needed for typical building loads, such Read More...
The current flowing freely through an external circuit that has no load or resistance; the maximum current possible. Read More...
Any material that has a limited capacity for conducting an electric current. Certain semiconductors, including silicon, gallium arsenide, copper indium diselenide, and cadmium telluride, are uniquely suited to the photovoltaic conversion process. Read More...
A material with high absorbence and low emittance properties applied to or on solar absorber surfaces Read More...
A solar absorber surface that has high absorbence at wavelengths corresponding to that of the solar spectrum and low emittance in the infrared range. Read More...
Any device, such as lights, televisions, and power tools, which is plugged into your central power source and used only intermittently. Read More...
The ratio of the minimum amount of work or energy required to perform a task to the amount actually used. Read More...
The generation of an electric current, when two conductors of different metals are joined at their ends to form a circuit, with the two junctions kept at different temperatures. Read More...
Wood, used for fuel, that has been air dried so that it contains 15 to 20 percent moisture content. Read More...
An electronic (automatic or manual) switch that disconnects one circuit from another circuit. These are used to isolate power generation or storage equipment from conditions such as voltage spikes or surges, thus avoiding potential damage to equipmen Read More...
Consist of three main layers. The top layer is near ambient and has low salt content. The bottom layer is hot, typically 160 F to 212 F (71 C to 100 C), and is very salty. The important gradient zone separates these zones. The gradient zone acts as a Read More...
This law states that no device can completely and continuously transform all of the energy supplied to it into useful energy. Read More...
A metal rod placed in a water heater tank to protect the tank from corrosion. Anodes of aluminum, magnesium, or zinc are the more frequently metals. The anode creates a galvanic cell in which magnesium or zinc will be corroded more quickly than the m Read More...
A type of solar photovoltaic device made in a continuous process of pulling material from a molten bath of photovoltaic material, such as silicon, to form a thin sheet of material. Read More...
A type of hydroelectric facility that uses the river flow with very little alteration and little or no impoundment of the water Read More...
Energy derived from resources that are regenerative or for all practical purposes can not be depleted. Types of renewable energy resources include moving water (hydro, tidal and wave power), thermal gradients in ocean water, biomass, geothermal energ Read More...
The process of converting municipal solid waste to energy and/or recovering materials for recycling. Read More...
The replacement of a non-functional or ineffective lamp with a new, more efficient lamp. Read More...
The complete cycle of stages (evaporation and condensation) of refrigeration or of the refrigerant. Read More...
The change in direction of a ray of light when it passes through one media to another with differing optical densities. Read More...
A window glass that has been coated with a reflective film and is useful in controlling solar heat gain during the summer. Read More...
An electrical device for converting alternating current to direct current. The chamber in a cooling device where water is separated from the working fluid (for example ammonia). Read More...
A hydrocarbon gas, C3H8, occurring in crude oil, natural gas, and refinery cracking gas. It is used as a fuel, a solvent, and a refrigerant. Propane liquefies under pressure and is the major component of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Read More...
A device for measuring light intensity that works by converting light falling on, or reach it, to electricity, and then measuring the current; used in photometers. Read More...
A term generally applied to individual solar collectors, and typically to solar photovoltaic collectors or modules. Read More...
In a given electrical circuit, the amount of current in amperes (i) is equal to the pressure in volts (V) divided by the resistance, in ohms (R). Read More...
Energy that comes from splitting atoms of radioactive materials, such as uranium, and which produces radioactive wastes. Read More...
A clear, colorless, very mobile liquid that is flammable and poisonous; used as a fuel and fuel additive, and to produce chemicals. Read More...
Energy available as a result of motion that varies directly in proportion to an object's mass and the square of its velocity. Read More...
A standard unit of electrical power equal to one thousand watts, or to the energy consumption at a rate of 1000 Joules per second. Read More...
A metric unit of energy or work; the energy produced by a force of one Newton operating through a distance of one meter; 1 Joule per second equals 1 Watt or 0.737 foot-pounds; 1 Btu equals 1,055 Joules. Read More...
A gas that does not react with other substances; e.g. argon or krypton; sealed between two sheets of glazing to decrease the U-value (increase the R-Value) of windows. Read More...
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. Read More...
The production of an electric current in a conductor by the variation of a magnetic field in its vicinity. Read More...
A power plant that produces electricity by the force of water falling through a hydro turbine that spins a generator. Read More...
A measure of the moisture content of air; may be expressed as absolute, mixing ratio, saturation deficit, relative, or specific. Read More...
A measure of the number of cycles or wavelengths of electrical energy per second; U.S. electricity supply has a standard frequency of 60 hertz. Read More...
The flow of heat from one area to another by conduction, convection, and/or radiation. Heat flows naturally from a warmer to a cooler material or space. Read More...
A form of thermal energy resulting from combustion, chemical reaction, friction, or movement of electricity. As a thermodynamic condition, heat, at a constant pressure, is equal to internal or intrinsic energy plus pressure times volume. Read More...
To disconnect a transmission and/or distribution line; a power line that is not carrying a current; to open a circuit. Read More...
The process of breaking down organic material; reduction of the net energy level and change in physical and chemical composition of organic material. Read More...
Natural gas (methane) that has been compressed to a higher pressure gaseous state by a compressor; used in CNG vehicles. Read More...
The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit; equal to 252 calories. Read More...
The action of light on a biological system that results in the dissociation of a substrate, usually water, to produce hydrogen. Read More...
Biomass converted directly to energy or converted to liquid or gaseous fuels such as ethanol, methanol, methane, and hydrogen. Read More...
In nuclear fission, atoms are split to release the energy. A nuclear reactor, or power plant, is a series of machines that can control nuclear fission to produce electricity. The fuel that nuclear reactors use to produce nuclear fission is pellets of Read More...
Biomass is organic matter derived from living, or recently living organisms. Biomass can be used as a source of energy and it most often refers to plants or plant-based materials which are not used for food or feed, and are specifically called lignoc Read More...
The Geothermal Resources Council (GRC), Geothermal Energy Association (GEA), and Geothermal Exchange Organization (GEO) have released guidance for U.S. states on meeting new clean energy standards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Read More...
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OPINION: RTC Renewable Energy as the new normal - Learnings from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
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