Energy terms starting with P

255 terms

  1. Prescription A direction written by the physician to the pharmacist for the preparation and use of a medicine or remedy.
  2. Present value The current value of a future cash flow or series of cash flows discounted at an appropriate interest rate or rates.
  3. Pressure Drop The loss in static pressure of a fluid (liquid or gas) in a system due to friction from obstructions in pipes, from valves, fittings, regulators, burners…
  4. Pressurization Testing A technique used by energy auditors, using a blower door, to locate areas of air infiltration by exaggerating the defects in the building shell.
  5. Prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) Under the Clean Air Act, a planning and management process for air quality when a new source of air pollution is proposed in an area where ambient air…
  6. Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) Program A Federal air pollution permitting program intended to ensure that air quality does not diminish in attainment areas which meet national ambient air…
  7. Prey base The assemblage of prey (food) animals available in a given area or habitat to support a predator such as a hawk or cougar.
  8. Price discovery The process of making prices visible and readily available to interested parties and, in some cases, the public.
  9. Price/Earnings Ratio (P/E Ratio) A company’s stock price divided by its annual earnings, a widely used equity valuation measure.
  10. Primary Air The air that is supplied to the combustion chamber of a furnace.
  11. Prime Mover Any machine capable of producing power to do work.
  12. Prior Appropriation Doctrine A system for allocating water rights used in the western United States under which the first person (or entity) to divert water from a source has a…
  13. process development unit An experimental facility that establishes proof of concept, preliminary process economics, and engineering feasibility for a pilot or demonstration plant.
  14. Process Heat Thermal energy that is used in agricultural and industrial operations.
  15. Producer Gas Low or medium Btu content gas, composed mainly of carbon monoxide, nitrogen(2), and hydrogen(2) made by the gasification of wood or coal.
  16. Productive machine hours That portion of scheduled operating hours during which a machine performs its designated functions, excluding time to transport the machine and…
  17. Products of Combustion The elements and compounds that result from the combustion of a fuel.
  18. Programmable Thermostat A type of thermostat that allows the user to program into the devices' memory a pre-set schedule of times (when certain temperatures occur) to turn on…
  19. Programmed timber harvest A timber harvest scheduled by a management plan to occur at a certain rate.
  20. Project financing A form of asset-based financing in which a firm finances a discrete set of assets (the project) on a stand-alone basis.
  21. Projected Area The net south-facing glazing area projected on a vertical plane. Also, the solid area covered at any instant by a wind turbine's blades from the…
  22. Projectile point Any sharp tip of an arrow, spear, or dart.
  23. Proof A measure of ethanol content. 1-percent ethanol content equals 2 proof.
  24. Propane A hydrocarbon gas, C3H8, occurring in crude oil, natural gas, and refinery cracking gas. It is used as a fuel, a solvent, and a refrigerant.
  25. Propeller (Hydro) Turbine A turbine that has a runner with attached blades similar to a propeller used to drive a ship.
  26. protein (PRO-teen) A molecule made up of amino acids that are needed for the body to function properly.
  27. Proximate Analysis A commonly used analysis for reporting fuel properties; may be on a dry (moisture free) basis, as "fired", or on an ash and moisture free basis.
  28. PSD increments The maximum increases in ambient pollution concentrations allowed over baseline concentrations for a pollutant while ensuring that an area continues to…
  29. Psi Pounds of pressure per square inch.
  30. Psia Pounds/force per square inch absolute.
  31. Psig Pounds/force per square inch gauge.
  32. Psychrometer An instrument for measuring relative humidity by means of wet and dry-bulb temperatures.
  33. Psychrometrics The analysis of atmospheric conditions, particularly moisture in the air.
  34. Public land Any land and interest in land (outside of Alaska) owned by the United States and administered by the Secretary of the Interior through the Bureau of Land…
  35. Public Land Order (PLO) An order affecting, modifying, or cancelling a withdrawal or reservation that has been issued by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to powers of the…
  36. Public Land Survey System (PLSS) The survey carried out by the BLM and its predecessors for establishing boundaries and subdivisions of public lands of the United States, using the rules…
  37. Public Utilities Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA) of 1978 A law that requires electric utilities to purchase electricity produced from qualifying power producers that use renewable energy resources or are…
  38. Public utility commissions State agencies that regulate investor-owned utilities operating in the state.
  39. Public utility district (PUD) A publicly owned energy producer or distributor. PUDs operate as special government districts under the authority of elected commissions.
  40. Public Utility Holding Company Act (PUHCA) of 1935 A law to protect consumers and investors. It placed geographic restrictions on mergers and limitations on diversification into non-utility lines of…
  41. Public Utility or Services Commissions (PUC or PSC) These are state government agencies responsible for the regulation of public utilities within a state or region.
  42. Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) A federal law requiring a utility to buy the power produced by a qualifying facility at a price equal to that which the utility would otherwise pay if it…
  43. Publicly Owned Treatment Works Permit (POTW) A permit that regulates discharges to publicly owned sewage treatment plants.
  44. Pueblo The Spanish word for town. A community dwelling with numerous households within, up to five stories high, built of stone or adobe by Indian tribes in the…
  45. Pueblo rights A water right possessed by a municipality which, as a successor of a Spanish or Mexican pueblo, entitled to the beneficial use of all needed…
  46. Pulp chips Timber or residues processed into small pieces of wood of more or less uniform dimensions with minimal amounts of bark.
  47. Pulse-Width-Modulated (PWM) Wave Inverter A type of power inverter that produce a high quality (nearly sinusoidal) voltage, at minimum current harmonics.
  48. Pump Octane Number This number represents the ability of a fuel to resist knocking when ignited in the cylinder of an internal-combustion engine.
  49. Pumped Storage Facility A type of power generating facility that pumps water to a storage reservoir during off-peak periods, and uses the stored water (by allowing it to fall…
  50. Purchase of Development Rights Programs through which local governments may purchase development rights and dedicate the land for conservation easements, protecting it as open space or…
  51. Pyranometer A device used to measure total incident solar radiation (direct beam, diffuse, and reflected radiation) per unit time per unit area.
  52. Pyrheliometer A device that measures the intensity of direct beam solar radiation.
  53. Pyroclastic flow High-speed avalanches of hot ash, rock fragments, and gas that move down the sides of a volcano during explosive eruptions or when the steep edge of a…
  54. Pyroclastic surge Similar to a pyroclastic flow, but contains a higher proportion of gas to rock and is more turbulent and faster moving.
  55. Pyrolysis The transformation on a compound or material into one or more substances by heat alone (without oxidation). Often called destructive distillation.