Miller APES Energy 7920

active solar heating system

active solar heating system

System that uses solar collectors to heat and store water in an insulated water tank or rock bed. Pumps or fans then distribute the stored heat or hot water throughout a dwelling as needed.

anthracite

A coal that burns with very little smoke or flame; hard coal. It consists almost entirely of carbon.

barrel

The unit used to measure oil. Equal to 42 gallons.

biofuels

Fuels, such as ethanol or methanol, that are created from the fermentation of plants or plant products.

biogas

Biomass fuel that is a mixture of gases, primarily methane, produced when plant and animal wastes are acted on by anaerobic bacteria in a digester.

biomass fuel

Plant material (wood), manure, and any other organic matter that is used as an energy source

bituminous

the second-purest form of coal.

chernobyl

nuclear power plant in Ukraine that had an explosion in 1986 & released radioactive materials into the air

coal

Solid fossil fuel; 3 types; very abundance in America.

cogeneration

The production of two useful forms of energy from the same fuel source.; like electricity and heat for a building.

crude oil

petroleum as it comes out of the ground and before it has been refined or processed into useful products

Deepwater Horizon

BP oil rig the exploded and killed 11, sank and left oil gushing from the bottom.

energy conservation

the practice of finding ways to use less energy or to use energy more efficiently

energy efficiency

An expression of how much of the energy put into a system actually does useful work

Energy STAR

A program developed by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency to encourage the development of energy-saving devices.

fracking

hydraulic fracturing-using pressurized fluid to create fractures in rock and release natural gas or petroleum

Fuel cell

A device that converts hydrogen or another fuel into electricity

Fukushima

Nuclear Power Plant in Japan damaged by the tsunami in 2011

geothermal energy

The energy produced by heat within earth; can be commercial or residential.

grid

Name given to the complex system that connects electricity generators and electricity users in the US.

Hydroelectric

Electricity produced by the kinetic energy of water moving over a waterfall or dam.

LEED certified

_________ is intended to provide building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.

lignite

a soft, brown coal that is easy to mine but heavily pollutes the air

liquefied natural gas (LNG)

Natural gas converted to liquid form by cooling it at a very low temperature. Used commercially on big scale.

liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)

Similar to natural gas but in a liquid form, slightly less energy dense, able to be transported via train or truck and stored at the point of use in tanks. BBQ gas.

mountaintop removal

a surface mining technique in which explosives are used to remove large areas of mountaintops in order to access underlying coal seams

natural gas

A gas with high methane content, usually found along with various fossil fuels and is used as a fuel.

net energy

Total amount of useful energy available from an energy resource or energy system over its lifetime, minus the amount of energy used or wasted in finding, processing, concentrating, and transporting it to users.

NIMBY

"refers to the idea that, while people may be aware of the necessity of some unpleasant realities, such as prisons, landfills, or chemical plants, they insist theses place be located away from where they live"- NOT IN MY BACK YARD

nuclear fission

nuclei of isotopes are split apart into smaller nuclei; used in commercial nuclear reactors.

nuclear fusion

2 isotopes of light elements (H) forced together at high temperatures till they fuse to form a heavier nucleus. Happens in the Sun, very difficult to accomplish on Earth, prohibitively expensive.

oil sand

a deposit of moist sand and clay that can be mined to extract bitumen, an oil-rich hydrocarbon; takes a lot if energy to extract and has a big impact on environment.

passive solar heating system

A system that uses the sun's energy without requiring mechanical devices (pumps or fans) to distribute the collected heat.

peat

a brown, soil-like material characteristic of boggy, acid ground, consisting of partly decomposed vegetable matter. It is widely cut and dried for use in gardening and as fuel.

petrochemicals

Certain products made from oil

petroleum

liquid fossil fuel; oil

photovoltaic cells

Cells, usually made of specially-treated silicon, that transfer solar energy from the sun to electrical energy

shale oil

Kerogen trapped in sedimentary rock

synthetic natural gas

gaseous fuel containing mostly methane produced from solid coal

Yucca mountain

controversial as proposed site for permanent storage of high level nuclear waste, 70 miles northwest of las vegas, near volcano and earthquake faults.