In this guide, we take a look at some of the most common terms you’ll find when it comes to renewable energy.
Absorber: The part of a solar panel that captures sunlight and turns it into usable energy. It's like the sunbathing spot for your solar panels!
Alternating Current (AC): The type of electricity commonly used in homes. Solar panels produce DC (direct current), and this gets converted to AC so your gadgets can use it.
Biofuel: Fuels that are derived from biomass (plants, algae, or organic waste) and are renewable sources of energy. Biofuels can replace conventional fossil fuels in vehicles, heating, and more.
Biomass: Organic materials (like wood, manure, and crop waste) that can be used to produce energy. It’s like recycling leftovers into power!
Carbon Footprint: The total amount of greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide and methane) that are emitted by our actions. The lower the carbon footprint, the better for our planet.
Capacity Factor: A measure of how much energy a power plant produces compared to what it could produce at full blast, all the time. It’s like measuring how often a sprinter is actually sprinting in a race.
Distributed Generation: Small-scale energy production located close to where the electricity is used, like solar panels on a house or a small wind turbine in a backyard.
Energy Efficiency: Using less energy to perform the same task. It's like getting the same amount of light from a lamp but using a smaller wattage bulb.
Feed-in Tariff: A policy that allows people who generate their own electricity (like with solar panels) to sell the excess back to the grid.
Geothermal Energy: Heat from the Earth that can be used to warm houses or generate electricity. It’s like tapping into the Earth’s natural furnace.
Green Technology: Technologies that have a low impact on the environment and are considered environmentally friendly. These can include renewable energy technologies, recycling processes, and others.
Hydrogen Fuel: A zero-emission fuel burned with oxygen. It can be used in fuel cells or internal combustion engines. It releases only water vapor and warm air when consumed.
Hydropower: Electricity generated by water power, using the flow of water from rivers or dams. It’s water doing heavy lifting!
Insolation: A measure of solar radiation energy received on a given surface area in a given time. It’s crucial for calculating the efficiency of solar panels.
Inverter: A device that converts DC electricity from things like solar panels into AC electricity for use in your home. It’s the translator between your solar panels and your TV.
Joule: A unit of energy in the International System of Units.
Junction Box: On a solar panel, a junction box is where the electrical connections are housed and where the panel’s output is directed to the inverter.
Kilowatt-hour (kWh): A measure of electrical energy equivalent to a power consumption of 1,000 watts for 1 hour. Think of it as the energy currency.
Kinetic Energy: Energy that a body possesses by virtue of being in motion. Wind turbines convert kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy and then into electricity.
Load Balancing: The process of distributing energy resources and demand across a power grid to ensure that electricity remains consistent and reliable for all users.
Microgrid: A small network of electricity users with a local source of supply that is usually attached to a centralized national grid but can function independently. It’s like having a mini-power station for a neighborhood.
Microinverter: A small inverter situated directly on the back of or adjacent to a solar panel. It converts direct current (DC) produced by a single solar module to alternating current (AC).
Nacelle: The housing on top of a wind turbine that contains the gearbox, low- and high-speed shafts, generator, controller, and brake. It’s like the brain of the wind turbine.
Net Metering: A system that credits solar energy system owners for the electricity they add to the grid. Like rolling over unused smartphone minutes to the next month.
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC): A method for generating electricity that uses the temperature difference between cooler deep and warmer shallow or surface seawaters to run a heat engine.
Off-grid: Not connected to the main power grid. It means relying on your own energy sources all the time.
Passive Solar Design: Building design that takes advantage of natural energy characteristics in materials and air created by exposure to the sun. It aims to maintain interior comfort and reduce energy usage, typically without the use of mechanical systems.
Photovoltaic (PV): Technology that converts light directly into electricity using a chemical and physical process within special materials.
Quantum Dot: Nanoparticles used in certain solar panels to capture more light. It’s cutting-edge tech making solar even better.
Renewable Energy Certificate (REC): A market-based instrument certifying the bearer owns one megawatt-hour of renewable electricity. It’s like a gold star for producing clean energy.
Smart Grid: An electrical grid which includes a variety of operation and energy measures including smart meters, smart appliances, renewable energy resources, and energy-efficient resources.
Solar Energy: Power from the sun. It’s the most abundant energy source on our planet—free and ready to harness.
Thermal Mass: Materials that store thermal energy. In building design, thermal mass is used to maintain indoor temperature at a comfortable level.
Turbine: A device that converts fluid flow (like water in a dam, steam in a geothermal plant, or air in a wind farm) into mechanical energy. It’s the muscle that makes electricity from movement.
Ultraviolet Solar Radiation: Part of the sun’s light spectrum that is invisible to the naked eye but can be harnessed for energy.
Upcycling: Reusing discarded objects or materials in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original, often seen in the context of sustainable practices.
Volt: The unit of electric potential. It’s what pushes the electricity through a wire.
Wind Farm: A group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. A farm that harvests the wind instead of crops.
Xeriscaping: Landscaping designed specifically for areas susceptible to drought, often using less water and incorporating renewable energy elements.
Yield: In the context of renewable energy, it refers to the energy output a renewable system produces over a period.
Zero Energy Building (ZEB): A building that generates as much energy as it uses, typically through a combination of energy-saving technologies and renewable energy generation.
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