An electromechanical device composed of a coil of wire wound around a cylinder containing a bar or plunger, that when a current is applied to the coil, the electromotive force causes the plunger to move; a series of coils or wires used to produce a magnet ...

Water that is suitable for drinking, as defined by local health officials.

A solar thermal technology that uses a modular mirror system that approximates a parabola and incorporates two-axis tracking to focus the sunlight onto receivers located at the focal point of each dish. The mirror system typically is made from a number of ...

The weight of water vapor, per unit weight of dry air.

Those gases, such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, tropospheric ozone, methane, and low level ozone that are transparent to solar radiation, but opaque to long wave radiation, and which contribute to the greenhouse effect.

A type of water heater in which heated water is stored within the tank. Hot water is released from the top of the tank when a hot water faucet is turned. This water is replaced with cold water that flows into the tank and down to just above the bottom pla ...

The requirement that an electric power utility generate or purchase a specified percentage of the power it supplies/sells from renewable energy resources, and thereby guarantee a market for electricity generated from renewable energy resources.

The process of designing a solar system to meet a specified load given the solar resource and the nominal or rated energy output of the solar energy collection or conversion device.

A device that converts high-pressure steam, produced in a boiler, into mechanical energy that can then be used to produce electricity by forcing blades in a cylinder to rotate and turn a generator shaft.

Freshly cut, unseasoned, wood.

The angle between a line from a point on the earth's surface to the center of the solar disc, and a line extending horizontally from the point.

A group of solar collectors or solar modules connected together.

The total capacity of electrical generation devices in a power station or system.

A technique for insulating and sealing exterior walls that reduces vapor diffusion through air leakage points by installing pre-cut blocks of rigid foam insulation over floor joists, sheet subfloor, and top plates before drywall is installed.

A type of structural, insulated product with foam insulation contained between two facings of drywall, or structural wood composition boards such as plywood, waferboard, and oriented strand board.

A renewable energy system that includes two different types of renewable energy technologies that produce the same type of energy; for e.g., a wind turbine and a solar photovoltaic array combined to meet a power demand.

A glazed structure, such as greenhouse or "sunspace."

A unit for the quantity of electricity transported in 1 second by a current of 1 ampere.

A type of heating system in which heated air is blown by a fan through air channels or ducts to rooms.

A term used for materials used to absorb and store solar energy.