Studied by 14 people
active solar heating system
A system that uses solar collectors to capture heat energy from the sun and stores it as heat for space heating and water heating Liquid or air pumped through the collectors transfers the captured heat to a storage system such as an insulated water tank or rock bed. Pumps or fans then distribute the stored heat or hot water throughout a dwelling as needed.
cogeneration
production of two useful forms of energy, such as a high-temperature heat or steam and electricity from the same fuel source
energy conservation
reducing or eliminating the unnecessary waste of energy
energy efficiency
percentage of the total energy input that does useful work and is not converted into low-quality, generally useless heat in an energy conversion system or process.
feed-in-tariff
requires utilities to buy electricity produced by homeowners and businesses from renewable energy sources at a guaranteed price
full-cost pricing
finding ways to include in the market prices of goods the harmful environment and health costs of producing and using those goods.
geothermal energy
heat transferred from the earth’s underground concentrations of dry steam (steam with no water droplets), wet steam (a mixture or steam and water droplets), or hot water trapped in fractured or porous rock.
hydrogen fuel cell
A device that combines hydrogen gas (H2) with oxygen as (O2) to produce electricity and water vapor that is emitted to the atmosphere
hydropower
electrical energy produced by falling or flowing water
passive solar heating system
a system that without the use of mechanical devices, captures sunlight directly within a structure and uses it to heat the structure
photovoltaic cell
Device that converts solar energy directly into electrical energy. Also called a solar cell.
solar thermal system
a system that uses various methods to collect and concentrate solar energy in order to boil water and produce steam for generate electricity.
Coal
Solid, combustible mixture of organic compounds with 30 to 98% carbon by weight, mixed with various amounts of sulfur and nitrogen compounds. It forms in several stages as the remains of plants are subjected to heat and pressure over millions of years.
Crude Oil (Petroleum)
Gooey liquid consisting mostly of hydrocarbon compounds and small amounts of compounds containing oxygen, sulfur, and nitrogen. Extracted from underground accumulations, it is sent to oil refineries, where it is converted to heating oil, diesel fuel, gasoline, tar, and other materials.
Energy Efficiency
Using less energy to produce the same amount of useful work.
Hydraulic Fracturing (fracking)
Freeing oil or natural gas that is tightly held in underground rock deposits by using perforated drilling well tubes with explosive charges to create fissures in the rock. Then, high-pressure pumps shoot a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals into the well to hold the rock fractures open and release the oil or natural gas, which flows back to the surface along with a mixture of water, and fracking chemicals (some of them hazardous), and other wastes that are released from the rock.
Liquefied Natural Gas
Natural gas converted to liquid form by cooling it to a very low temperature.
Liquefied Petroleum Gas
Mixture of liquefied propane (C3H8) and butane (C4H10) gas removed from natural gas and used as a fuel.
Natural Gas
Underground deposits of gases consisting of 50-90% by weight methane gas (CH4) and small amounts of heavier gaseous hydrocarbon compounds such as propane (C3H8) and butane (C4H10).
Net Energy
Total amount of high-quality energy available from an energy resource pr energy system over its lifetime, minus the amount of high-quality energy needed to make the energy available.
Nuclear Fission
The process by which nuclei of certain isotopes with large mass numbers (such as uranium-235) are split apart into lighter nuclei when struck by a neutron and release energy
Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Includes the process of mining uranium, processing and enriching it to make nuclear fuel, using it in the reactor, building a nuclear power plant, safely storing the resulting highly radioactive wastes for thousand of years until their radioactivity falls to safe levels, and retiring the highly radioactive nuclear plant by taking it apart and storing its high- and moderate-level radioactive material safely for thousands of years
Oil Sands (tar sands)
Deposit of a mixture of clay, sand, water, an varying amounts of a tar-like heavy oil known as bitumen. Bitumen can be extracted from tar sand by heating. It is then purified and upgraded to synthetic crude oil.
Peak Production
Point in time when the pressure in an oil well drops and its rate of conventional crude oil production starts declining, usually after a decade or so; for a group of wells or for a nation, the point at which all wells on average have passed peak production.
Petrochemicals
Chemicals obtained by refining (distilling) crude oil. They are used as raw materials in manufacturing most industrial chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides, plastics, synthetic fibers, paints, medicines, and many other products
Proven Oil Reserves
Identified deposits from which conventional crude oil can be extracted profitably by current processes with current technology.
Refining
Complex process in which crude oil is heated and vaporized in giant columns and separated, by use of varying boiling points, into various products such as gasoline heating oil, and asphalt.
Synthetic Natural Gas
Gaseous fuel containing mostly methane produced from solid carbon
Shale Oil
Oil from bituminous shale
Nuclear fusion
Combining two atomic nuclei to make one or more new nuclei
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