Legal documents that regulate construction to protect the health, safety, and welfare of people. Codes establish minimum standards but do not guarantee efficiency or quality.

A body of water that contains brackish (highly saline) water that forms layers of differing salinity (stratifies) that absorb and trap solar energy. Solar ponds can be used to provide heat for industrial or agricultural processes, building heating and coo ...

A popular term used to describe the heating effect due to the trapping of long wave (length) radiation by greenhouse gases produced from natural and human sources.

An amount paid by a customer for being connected to an electricity supplier's transmission and distribution system.

The analysis of atmospheric conditions, particularly moisture in the air.

An insulation product made of a fibrous material or plastic foams, pressed or extruded into board-like forms. It provides thermal and acoustical insulation strength with low weight, and coverage with few heat loss paths.

A chemical element that can be used as a fuel since it has a very high energy content.

A stationary or rotating vent used to ventilate attics or cathedral ceilings; usually made of galvanized steel, or polypropylene.

A circular projection of the sky vault onto a flat diagram used to determine solar positions and shading effects of landscape features on a solar energy system.

A construction element used to cover the exterior of wall framing and roof trusses.

A popular term used for an evaporative cooling device.

A solar energy system designed to provide heat to individual rooms in a building.

Recombination occurring in the emitter region of a photovoltaic cell.

A chemical element (impurity) added in small amounts to an otherwise pure semiconductor material to modify the electrical properties of the material. An n-dopant introduces more electrons. A p-dopant creates electron vacancies (holes).

A commmon term refering to an electricity transmission and distribution system.

A type of furnace in which fuel is burned and the heat is used to produce steam.

A unit of pressure [hydraulic (liquid) or pneumatic (gas)] that does not include atmospheric pressure.

The tank of a water heater.

An electronic device that allows current to flow in one direction only.

A popular term for localized or on-site power generation.