Environmental 13
Terms
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- passive solar heating
- a system of putting the sun's energy to use without requiring mechanical devices to distribute the heat
- active solar heating
- a system of putting the sun's energy to use in which a series of collectors absorb the solar energy and pumps or fans distribute the collected heat
- solar thermal electric generation
- a means of producing electricity in which the sun's energy is concentrated by mirrors or lenses onto a fluid-filled pipe; the heated fluid is used to generate electricity
- Photovoltaic solar cell
- a wafe or thin filmm of solid state materials, such as silicon or gallium arsenide, that are treated with certain metals so that they generate electricity when solar energy is absorbed
- fuel cell
- a device that directly converts chemical energy into electricity without the intermediate step of needing to produce steam and use a turbine and generator; the fuel cell requires hydrogen and oxygen from the air
- biomass
- plant and animal material used as fuel
- wind energy
- electic energy obtained from surface air currents caused by the solar warming of air
- hydropower
- a form of renewable energy that relies on flowing or falling water to generate electricity
- tidal energy
- a form of renewable energy that relies on the ebb and flow of the tides to generate electricity
- geothermal energy
- the use of energy from earth's interior or either space heating or generation of electricity
- energy conservation
- using less energy
- energy efficiency
- using less energy to accomplish a given task
- cogeneration
- an energy technology that involves recycling waste heat