The angle that a solar collector is positioned from horizontal.

A building with more than 50 percent of its floorspace used for commercial activities, which include stores, offices, schools, churches, libraries, museums, health care facilities, warehouses, and government buildings except those on military bases.

The material through which electricity is transmitted, such as an electrical wire, or transmission or distribution line.

A term for the process of transmitting electricity over transmission lines not owned by the supplier of the electricity to a retail customer of the supplier. With retail wheeling, an electricity consumer can secure their own supply of electricity from a b ...

A colorless, odorless, tasteless gas composed of one molecule of Carbon and four of hydrogen, which is highly flammable. It is the main constituent of "natural gas" that is formed naturally by methanogenic, anaerobic bacteria or can be manufactured, and w ...

Pounds/force per square inch gauge.

A chemical used as a preservative and in bonding agents. It is found in household products such as plywood, furniture, carpets, and some types of foam insulation. It is also a by-product of combustion and is a strong-smelling, colorless gas that is an eye ...

Insulation made from rockwool fibers, fiberglass, cellulose fiber, vermiculite or perlite minerals, and composed of loose fibers or granules can be applied by pouring directly from the bag or with a blower.

A passage for surplus water to flow over or around a dam.

The number of cycles through which an alternating current passes per second; in the U.S. the standard for electricity generation is 60 cycles per second (60 Hertz).

This type of heat pump is known as an air-to air system.

A toilet that uses less water than a standard one during flushing, for the purpose of conserving water resources.

One millionth of a meter (10-6 m).

Any liquid petroleum product burned for the generation of heat in a furnace or firebox, or for the generation of power in an engine. Domestic (residential) heating fuels are classed as Nos. 1, 2, 3; Industrial fuels as Nos. 4, 5, and 6.

Power plants, whose output depends on a factor(s) that cannot be controlled by the power generator because they utilize intermittent resources such as solar energy or the wind.

A power plant that uses two thermodynamic cycles to achieve higher overall system efficiency; e.g.: the heat from a gas-fired combustion turbine is used to generate steam for heating or to operate a steam turbine to generate additional electricity.

The ratio of available energy per pound; usually used to compare storage batteries.

Infrared or radiant heat.

An unregulated subsidiary of an electric utility that is allowed to generate and sell wholesale power as an independent energy producer, and is exempt from the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935.

A nationally recognized energy rating program that gives builders, mortgage lenders, secondary lending markets, homeowners, sellers, and buyers a precise evaluation of energy losing deficiency's in homes. Builders can use this system to gauge the energy q ...