Energy — page 25 of 33

Energy terms

2401. Psi Pounds of pressure per square inch.
2402. Psia Pounds/force per square inch absolute.
2403. Psig Pounds/force per square inch gauge.
2404. Psychrometer An instrument for measuring relative humidity by means of wet and dry-bulb temperatures.
2405. Psychrometrics The analysis of atmospheric conditions, particularly moisture in the air.
2406. 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…
2407. Public Land Order (PLO) (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…
2408. Public Land Survey System (PLSS) (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…
2409. 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…
2410. Public utility commissions State agencies that regulate investor-owned utilities operating in the state.
2411. Public utility district (PUD) (PUD) A publicly owned energy producer or distributor. PUDs operate as special government districts under the authority of elected commissions.
2412. 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…
2413. 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.
2414. Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) (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…
2415. Publicly Owned Treatment Works Permit (POTW) (POTW) A permit that regulates discharges to publicly owned sewage treatment plants.
2416. 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…
2417. 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…
2418. Pulp chips Timber or residues processed into small pieces of wood of more or less uniform dimensions with minimal amounts of bark.
2419. Pulse-Width-Modulated (PWM) Wave Inverter A type of power inverter that produce a high quality (nearly sinusoidal) voltage, at minimum current harmonics.
2420. Pump Octane Number This number represents the ability of a fuel to resist knocking when ignited in the cylinder of an internal-combustion engine.
2421. 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…
2422. 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…
2423. Pyranometer A device used to measure total incident solar radiation (direct beam, diffuse, and reflected radiation) per unit time per unit area.
2424. Pyrheliometer A device that measures the intensity of direct beam solar radiation.
2425. 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…
2426. Pyroclastic surge Similar to a pyroclastic flow, but contains a higher proportion of gas to rock and is more turbulent and faster moving.
2427. Pyrolysis The transformation on a compound or material into one or more substances by heat alone (without oxidation). Often called destructive distillation.
2428. Quad One quadrillion Btu. (1,000,000,000,000,000 Btu)
2429. Quad-level occurrence The recorded occurrence of a species in the area represented by a specific, named U.S. Geological Survey 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle map (quad map).
2430. Qualifying Facility A category of electric power producer established under the Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA) of 1978, that includes small-power producers…
2431. Quality of Life The overall enjoyment of life. Many clinical trials assess the effects of cancer and its treatment on the quality of life.
2432. Quartzite A hard, metamorphic rock that was originally sandstone.
2433. Quaternary The present period, forming the latter part of the Cenozoic Era, originating about 1 million years ago and including the Recent and Pleistocene epochs.
2434. R-Factor See R-Value.
2435. R-Value A measure of the capacity of a material to resist heat transfer. The R-Value is the reciprocal of the conductivity of a material (U-Value).
2436. Radiant Barrier A thin, reflective foil sheet that exhibits low radiant energy transmission and under certain conditions can block radiant heat transfer; installed in…
2437. Radiant Ceiling Panels Ceiling panels that contain electric resistance heating elements embedded within them to provide radiant heat to a room.
2438. Radiant Energy Energy that transmits away from its source in all directions.
2439. Radiant Floor A type of radiant heating system where the building floor contains channels or tubes through which hot fluids such as air or water are circulated.
2440. Radiant Heating System A heating system where heat is supplied (radiated) into a room by means of heated surfaces, such as electric resistance elements, hot water (hydronic)…
2441. Radiation (RAY-dee-AY-shun) Energy released in the form of particle or electromagnetic waves.
2442. Radiative Cooling The process of cooling by which a heat absorbing media absorbs heat from one source and radiates the heat away.
2443. Radiator A room heat delivery (or exchanger) component of a hydronic (hot water or steam) heating system; hot water or steam is delivered to it by natural…
2444. Radiator Vent A device that releases pressure within a radiator when the pressure inside exceeds the operating limits of the vent.
2445. Radioactive Waste Materials left over from making nuclear energy. Radioactive waste can living organisms if it is not stored safely.
2446. Radon A toxic gas found in the soil beneath a house that can contribute to cancer and other illnesses.
2447. Rafter A construction element used for ceiling support.
2448. Rain shadow effect The region on the lee (sheltered) side of a mountain or mountain range where the precipitation is noticeably less than on the windward side, because the…
2449. Rammed Earth A construction material made by compressing earth in a form; used traditionally in many areas of the world and widely throughout North Africa and the…
2450. Ramp rate The rate at power system load or generator output varies, or the limits to such rates due to mechanical or reliability considerations.
2451. Rangeland Land on which the native vegetation, climax, or natural potential consists predominately of grasses, grasslike plants, forbs, or shrubs.
2452. Rankine Cycle The thermodynamic cycle that is an ideal standard for comparing performance of heat-engines, steam power plants, steam turbines, and heat pump systems…
2453. Rankine steam cycle The thermodynamic cycle of temperature and pressure changes of water as it is converted from a liquid to a gaseous state by heating, and returns back to…
2454. RAPTOR A bird of prey such as a falcon, hawk, or eagle.
2455. Rare species See Special status species
2456. Rate Schedule A mechanism used by electric utilities to determine prices for electricity; typically defines rates according to amounts of power demanded/consumed during…
2457. Rated battery capacity The term used by battery manufacturers to indicate the maximum amount of energy that can be withdrawn from a battery under specified discharge rate and…
2458. Rated Life The length of time that a product or appliance is expected to meet a certain level of performance under nominal operating conditions; in a luminaire, the…
2459. Rated Power The power output of a device under specific or nominal operating conditions.
2460. Rayleigh Frequency Distribution A mathematical representation of the frequency or ratio that specific wind speeds occur within a specified time interval.
2461. reaction A chemical reaction is a dissociation, recombination, or rearrangement of atoms.
2462. Reactive Power The electrical power that oscillates between the magnetic field of an inductor and the electrical field of a capacitor.
2463. Real Price The unit price of a good or service estimated from some base year in order to provide a consistent means of comparison.
2464. Real-time market An electricity market that settles–determines the price–for one-hour periods or less during the day of delivery.
2465. Real-time pricing The instantaneous pricing of electricity based on the cost of the electricity available for use at the time the electricity is demanded by the customer.
2466. Rebound (of water levels) The recovery/rise of the water level in a groundwater aquifer after groundwater pumping has ceased.
2467. Receiver The component of a central receiver solar thermal system where reflected solar energy is absorbed and converted to thermal energy.
2468. Receiving District An overlay zoning district established by the Town Meeting/ Town Council upon recommendation from the Planning Board as an area suitable to receive…
2469. receptor (reh-SEP-ter) A molecule inside or on the surface of a cell that binds to a specific substance and causes a specific physiologic effect in the cell.
2470. Recharge Water that infiltrates into the ground, usually from above, that replenishes groundwater reserves, provides soil moisture, and affords evapotranspiration.
2471. Recirculated Air Air that is returned from a heated or cooled space, reconditioned and/or cleaned, and returned to the space.
2472. Recirculation Returning a fraction of the effluent outflow to the inlet to dilute incoming wastewater.
2473. Recirculation Systems A type of solar heating system that circulate warm water from storage through the collectors and exposed piping whenever freezing conditions occur…
2474. Reclamation The process of restoring surface environment to acceptable pre-existing conditions.
2475. Reclamation withdrawal Withholding an area of public land from the operation of the public land laws for the purpose of reserving the land for the use of the Bureau of…
2476. recombinant DNA The process of cutting and recombining DNA fragments from different sources as a means to isolate genes or to alter their structure and function.
2477. Record of Decision (ROD) (ROD) The Record of Decision (ROD) is a public document that explains which cleanup alternatives will be used to clean up a Superfund site.
2478. Recovery boiler A pulp mill boiler in which lignin and spent cooking liquor (black liquor) is burned to generate steam.
2479. Rectifier An electrical device for converting alternating current to direct current. The chamber in a cooling device where water is separated from the working fluid…
2480. Recuperator A heat exchanger in which heat is recovered from the products of combustion.
2481. Recurrent Costs Costs that are repetitive and occur when an organization produces similar goods or services on a continuing basis.
2482. Recycling The process of converting materials that are no longer useful as designed or intended into a new product.
2483. Reference price The settlement price of a derivatives contract, based on a particular location and commodity; An estimated electricity offer price based on operating and…
2484. Reflectance The amount (percent) of light that is reflected by a surface relative to the amount that strikes it.
2485. Reflective Coatings Materials with various qualities that are applied to glass windows before installation.
2486. Reflective Glass A window glass that has been coated with a reflective film and is useful in controlling solar heat gain during the summer.
2487. Reflective Insulation (see also radiant barrier) An aluminum foil fabricated insulator with backings applied to provide a series of closed air spaces with highly reflective surfaces.
2488. Reflective Window Films A material applied to window panes that controls heat gain and loss, reduces glare, minimizes fabric fading, and provides privacy.
2489. Reflector A component of a solar energy facility that reflects incident sunlight to a desired location or component within the facility, allowing it to be converted…
2490. Reflector Lamps A type of incandescent lamp with an interior coating of aluminum that reflects light to the front of the bulb.
2491. Reformulated gasoline (RFG) (RFG) Gasoline that has altered composition or characteristics to reduce emissions of pollutants from vehicles in accordance with the Clean Air Act.
2492. Refraction The change in direction of a ray of light when it passes through one media to another with differing optical densities.
2493. Refractory Lining A lining, usually of ceramic, capable of resisting and maintaining high temperatures.
2494. Refrigerant The compound (working fluid) used in air conditioners, heat pumps, and refrigerators to transfer heat into or out of an interior space.
2495. Refrigeration The process of the absorption of heat from one location and its transfer to another for rejection or recuperation.
2496. Refrigeration Capacity A measure of the effective cooling capacity of a refrigerator, expressed in Btu per hour or in tons, where one (1) ton of capacity is equal to the heat…
2497. Refrigeration Cycle The complete cycle of stages (evaporation and condensation) of refrigeration or of the refrigerant.
2498. Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) (RDF) A solid fuel produced by shredding municipal solid waste (MSW). Noncombustible materials such as glass and metals are generally removed prior to making…
2499. Regeneration harvest A timber harvest method that removes selected trees in the existing stand to a density that allows for the establishment of a new even-aged stand below.
2500. Regeneration with reserves Similar to a regeneration harvest, except that a number of green trees are left standing to meet other resource needs such as wildlife habitat.