Glossary of Terms
Air Pollution
The presence of contaminants in the air in concentrations that prevent the normal dispersive ability of the air, and that interfere with biological processes and human economics.
Air Quality Standards
The prescribed level of pollutants allowed in outside or indoor air as established by legislation.
Alternative Fuels
A popular term for "non-conventional" transportation fuels derived from natural gas (propane, compressed natural gas, methanol, etc.) or biomass materials (ethanol, methanol).
Bioenergy
The conversion of the complex carbohydrates in organic material into energy.
Biogas
A combustible gas created by anaerobic decomposition of organic material, composed primarily of methane, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide.
Biogasification or biomethanization
The process of decomposing biomass with anaerobic bacteria to produce biogas.
Biomass
As defined by the Energy Security Act (PL 96-294) of 1980, "any organic matter which is available on a renewable basis, including agricultural crops and agricultural wastes and residues, wood and wood wastes and residues, animal wastes, municipal wastes, and aquatic plants."
Biomass Energy
Energy produced by the conversion of biomass directly to heat or to a liquid or gas that can be converted to energy.
Biomass Fuel
Biomass converted directly to energy or converted to liquid or gaseous fuels such as ethanol, methanol, methane, and hydrogen.
Biomass Gasification
The conversion of biomass into a gas, by biogasification or thermal gasification, in which hydrogen is produced from high-temperature gasifying and low-temperature pyrolysis of biomass.
Carbon Dioxide
A colorless, odorless noncombustible gas with the formula CO2 that is present in the atmosphere. It is formed by the combustion of carbon and carbon compounds (such as fossil fuels and biomass), by respiration, which is a slow combustion in animals and plants, and by the gradual oxidation of organic matter in the soil.
Carbon Sequestration
Long-term storage of carbon in terrestrial, underground, or oceans to reduce the buildup of carbon dioxide (the principal greenhouse gas) concentration in the atmosphere.
Climate Change
A term used to describe short and long-term affects on the Earth's climate as a result of human activities such as fossil fuel combustion and vegetation clearing and burning.
Conservation
To reduce or avoid the consumption of a resource or commodity.
Demand-Side Management (DSM)
The process of managing the consumption of energy, generally to optimize available and planned generation resources.
Deregulation
The process of changing regulatory policies and laws to increase competition among suppliers of commodities and services.
Efficiency
Under the First Law of Thermodynamics, efficiency is the ratio of work or energy output to work or energy input, and cannot exceed 100 percent. Efficiency under the Second Law of Thermodynamics is determined by the ratio of the theoretical minimum energy that is required to accomplish a task relative to the energy actually consumed to accomplish the task. Generally, the measured efficiency of a device, as defined by the First Law, will be higher than that defined by the Second Law.
Crops grown specifically for their fuel value. These include food crops such as corn and sugarcane, and nonfood crops such as poplar trees and switchgrass. Currently, two energy crops are under development: short-rotation woody crops, which are fast-growing hardwood trees harvested in 5 to 8 years; and herbaceous energy crops, such as perennial grasses, which are harvested annually after taking 2 to 3 years to reach full productivity.
Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER)
The measure of the instantaneous energy efficiency of room air conditioners; the cooling capacity in Btu/hr divided by the watts of power consumed at a specific outdoor temperature (usually 95 degrees Fahrenheit).
Energy Factor (EF)
The measure of overall efficiency for a variety of appliances. For water heaters, the energy factor is based on three factors: 1) the recovery efficiency, or how efficiently the heat from the energy source is transferred to the water; 2) stand-by losses, or the percentage of heat lost per hour from the stored water compared to the content of the water: and 3) cycling losses. For dishwashers, the energy factor is defined as the number of cycles per kWh of input power. For clothes washers, the energy factor is defined as the cubic foot capacity per kWh of input power per cycle. For clothes dryers, the energy factor is defined as the number of pounds of clothes dried per kWh of power consumed.
Energy Guide Labels
The labels placed on appliances to enable consumers to compare appliance energy efficiency and energy consumption under specified test conditions as required by the Federal Trade Commission.
Fossil Fuels
Fuels formed in the ground from the remains of dead plants and animals. It takes millions of years to form fossil fuels. Oil, natural gas, and coal are fossil fuels.
Global Warming
A popular term used to describe the increase in average global temperatures due to the greenhouse effect.
Greenhouse Effect
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.
Greenhouse Gases
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.
Green Power
A popular term for energy produced from clean, renewable energy resources.
Methane
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 which is used as a fuel and for manufacturing chemicals.
Nonrenewable Fuels
Fuels that cannot be easily made or "renewed," such as oil, natural gas, and coal.
Energy that comes from splitting atoms of radioactive materials, such as uranium, and which produces radioactive wastes.
Recycling
The process of converting materials that are no longer useful as designed or intended into a new product.
Renewable Energy
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 energy, solar energy, and wind energy. Municipal solid waste (MSW) is also considered to be a renewable energy resource.
The process of sending or moving electricity from one point to another; usually defines that part of an electric power provider's electric power lines from the power plant buss to the last transformer before the customer's connection.
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