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--- luminous:glossary [2008-02-23 12:39] – takufoam
+++ luminous:glossary [2008-02-23 12:50] – takufoam
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 **External Costs (aka Externality):** arises when the social or economic activities of one group of persons have an impact on another group and when that impact is not fully accounted, or compensated for, by the first group. Thus, a power station that generates emissions of SO2, causing damage to building materials or human health, imposes an external cost. This is because the impact on the owners of the buildings or on those who suffer damage to their health is not taken into account by the generator of the electricity when deciding on the activities causing the damage. In this example, the environmental costs are "external" because, although they are real costs to these members of society, the owner of the power station is not taking them into account when making decisions. Note that external costs are unintended and result from there being no property rights or markets for these environmental effects. The potential value of the Externality project therefore lies in valuing external costs in order for those values to be included in the design of policy to correct for the present lack of such property rights and markets.
-**Field Assisted Simultaneous Synthesis and Transfer (FASST):** A patented nanotechnology printing process ([[Heliovolt]]) which allows solar cells to be printed directly on metal, glass and other building materials.
+**Field Assisted Simultaneous Synthesis and Transfer (FASST):** A patented nanotechnology printing process (Heliovolt) which allows solar cells to be printed directly on metal, glass and other building materials.
-Fuel cell: is an electrochemical device similar to a battery, but differing from the latter in that it is designed for continuous replenishment of the reactants consumed; i.e. it produces electricity from an external fuel supply of hydrogen and oxygen as opposed to the limited internal energy storage capacity of a battery.
+**Fuel cell:** is an electrochemical device similar to a battery, but differing from the latter in that it is designed for continuous replenishment of the reactants consumed; i.e. it produces electricity from an external fuel supply of hydrogen and oxygen as opposed to the limited internal energy storage capacity of a battery.
-Grid-excited inverter: an inverter changes DC electricity -- the kind that comes out of PVs -- into AC or house current. A grid-excited inverter, which is connected to the power grid and exports locally-harvested electricity into it, only operates when the grid is energized.
-Inverter: a device that converts DC electricity, as produced by PVs and stored in batteries, into AC house current, the kind used by most familiar household devices.
+**Grid-excited inverter:** an inverter changes DC electricity -- the kind that comes out of PVs -- into AC or house current. A grid-excited inverter, which is connected to the power grid and exports locally-harvested electricity into it, only operates when the grid is energized.
-KW: - kiloWatt.  1 kiloWatt=  1000 Watt – Unit of power. 1000 kW= 1 megaWatt (mW), 1000 megaWatt = 1 gigaWatt, 1000 gigaWatt = 1 teraWatt.
+**Inverter:** a device that converts DC electricity, as produced by PVs and stored in batteries, into AC house current, the kind used by most familiar household devices.
-kWh – kiloWatt hour: labour done by letting work 1000 Watt during 1 hour.
+**KW:** kiloWatt.  1 kiloWatt=  1000 Watt – Unit of power. 1000 kW= 1 megaWatt (mW), 1000 megaWatt = 1 gigaWatt, 1000 gigaWatt = 1 teraWatt.
-Lead-acid batteries: the commonest and most cost-effective form of storage batteries, found in vehicles, uninterruptible power supplies, and renewably powered home systems.
-Load: in electricity, any device that consumes electricity, so an electric water heater is a big load, and a clock or a night light is a little load.
+**kWh – kiloWatt hour:** labor done by letting work 1000 Watt during 1 hour.
-Low-voltage: in electrical terms, less than house current, typically 12 or 24 volts.
+**Lead-acid batteries:** the commonest and most cost-effective form of storage batteries, found in vehicles, uninterruptible power supplies, and renewable energy powered home systems.
-Lumens: an exact measure of quantity of light. A 60-watt incandescent lightbulb and an 18-watt compact fluorescent light bulb each produce about 1,000 lumens.
+**Load:** in electricity, any device that consumes electricity, so an electric water heater is a big load, and a clock or a night light is a little load.
-megawatt peak of PV-modules: is the amount that delivers 1 MW of electric
+**Low-voltage:** in electrical terms, less than house current, typically 12 or 24 volts.
-power under standard illumination conditions (1,000 W/m2, 25 or 28 C)).
-MPP- tracking - Maximum Power Point Tracking: - a transformer has to deliver the max. power at all possible light circumstances which goes with a certain voltage delivered by the panel. This voltage depends on the amount of light falling on the panel. Power is the product of voltage and current and hence at a givven voltage there is a specific current. At every voltage there is an optimal current (maximum power point). In the invertor the electronical parts look under every circumstances this optimal point: MPP-tracking
+**Lumens:** an exact measure of quantity of light. A 60-watt incandescent light bulb and an 18-watt compact fluorescent light bulb each produce about 1,000 lumen.
-Mono-Crystalline Silicon Cells: high-grade, single-crystal, high-efficiency PV cells sliced from a single crystalline boule of purified silicon
-Multicrystalline (polycrystalline) Silicon Cells: many crystals of silicon in a semi-chaotic state, typical of medium-grade, medium-efficiency photovoltaic material.
+**1 megawatt peak of pv-modules:** is the amount that delivers 1 MW of electric power under standard illumination conditions (1,000 W/m2, 25 or 28 C)).
-Ohm's Law: the mathematical product of current and voltage, P=IV.
+**MPP- tracking - Maximum Power Point Tracking:** - a transformer has to deliver the max. power at all possible light circumstances which goes with a certain voltage delivered by the panel. This voltage depends on the amount of light falling on the panel. Power is the product of voltage and current and hence at a given voltage there is a specific current. At every voltage there is an optimal current (maximum power point). In the inverter the electronic parts look under every circumstances this optimal point: MPP-tracking
-Open-circuit voltage (Voc): is the voltage across the positive and negative terminals under open-circuit conditions, and the current is zero, which corresponds to a load resistance of infinity. (See Short-circuit current (Isc))
+**Mono-Crystalline Silicon Cells:** high-grade, single-crystal, high-efficiency PV cells sliced from a single crystalline boule of purified silicon
-Organic Photovoltaic (OPV): refers to polymers that are capable of generating electrical power from light.
+**Multicrystalline (polycrystalline) Silicon Cells:** many crystals of silicon in a semi-chaotic state, typical of medium-grade, medium-efficiency photovoltaic material.
-Over-voltage: a circumstance in which the voltage is too high -- sun shining on a PV array on a cold day with snow on the ground might produce more voltage than a charge controller can handle, and so the over-voltage protection cuts the connection.
+**Ohm's Law:** the mathematical product of current and voltage, P=IV.
-Passive Solar: The natural power of solar heat and light. Many buildings are designed to take advantage of this natural resource through the use of passive solar heating and daylighting.
+**Open-circuit voltage (Voc):** is the voltage across the positive and negative terminals under open-circuit conditions, and the current is zero, which corresponds to a load resistance of infinity. (See Short-circuit current (Isc))
-The south side of a building always receives the most sunlight. Therefore, buildings designed for passive solar heating usually have large, south-facing windows. Materials that absorb and store the sun's heat can be built into the sunlit floors and walls. The floors and walls will then heat up during the day and slowly release heat at night, when the heat is needed most. This passive solar design feature is called direct gain.
-Other passive solar heating design:
-Sunspace: (much like a greenhouse) is built on the south side of a building. As sunlight passes through glass or other glazing, it warms the sunspace. Proper ventilation allows the heat to circulate into the building.
-Trombe wall: is a very thick, south-facing wall, which is painted black and made of a material that absorbs a lot of heat. A pane of glass or plastic glazing, installed a few inches in front of the wall, helps hold in the heat. The wall heats up slowly during the day. Then as it cools gradually during the night, it gives off its heat inside the building.
-Peak Watt: is the amount of power produced when the module receives 1,000 watts per square meter of exposure to the sun (insolation). It is used for rating PV-Systems.
+**Organic Photovoltaic (OPV):** refers to polymers that are capable of generating electrical power from light.
-Photon: refers to a "packet" of light, but something no one has ever isolated, described, or measured individually in any way. Since the "wave theory" of light is unable to explain the way light travels across the vast vacuum of space, a "particle theory" became necessary. It has proved a useful model, as it also explains the way the photoelectric effect works. Physicists find it very convenient to be able to switch back and forth between models when explaining the way light works. Some day they may find a unifying theory. Meanwhile, light is a wave, or a photon, depending...
+**Over-voltage:** a circumstance in which the voltage is too high - sun shining on a pv-array on a cold day with snow on the ground might produce more voltage than a charge controller can handle, and so the over-voltage protection cuts the connection.
-Peak oil: is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum production is reached, after which the rate of production enters its terminal decline. If global consumption is not mitigated before the peak, an energy crisis may develop because the availability of conventional oil will drop and prices will rise, perhaps dramatically.
+**Passive Solar:** the natural power of solar heat and light. Many buildings are designed to take advantage of this natural resource through the use of passive solar heating and daylighting. The south side of a building always receives the most sunlight. Therefore, buildings designed for passive solar heating usually have large, south-facing windows. Materials that absorb and store the sun's heat can be built into the sunlit floors and walls. The floors and walls will then heat up during the day and slowly release heat at night, when the heat is needed most. This passive solar design feature is called direct gain. Other passive solar heating design:
+- //Sunspace:// (much like a greenhouse) is built on the south side of a building. As sunlight passes through glass or other glazing, it warms the sun space. Proper ventilation allows the heat to circulate into the building.
+- //Trombe wall:// is a very thick, south-facing wall, which is painted black and made of a material that absorbs a lot of heat. A pane of glass or plastic glazing, installed a few inches in front of the wall, helps hold in the heat. The wall heats up slowly during the day. Then as it cools gradually during the night, it gives off its heat inside the building.
+**Peak Watt:** is the amount of power produced when the module receives 1,000 watts per square meter of exposure to the sun (insolation). It is used for rating PV-Systems.
+**Photon:** refers to a "packet" of light, but something no one has ever isolated, described, or measured individually in any way. Since the "wave theory" of light is unable to explain the way light travels across the vast vacuum of space, a "particle theory" became necessary. It has proved a useful model, as it also explains the way the photoelectric effect works. Physicists find it very convenient to be able to switch back and forth between models when explaining the way light works. Some day they may find a unifying theory. Meanwhile, light is a wave, or a photon, depending...
+**Peak oil:** is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum production is reached, after which the rate of production enters its terminal decline. If global consumption is not mitigated before the peak, an energy crisis may develop because the availability of conventional oil will drop and prices will rise, perhaps dramatically.
 Photovoltaic effect: the generation of a voltage and/or a current by absorption of light in some material or combination of materials.