APES Chapter 13 Vocab

Terms in this set (29)

Biomass
The total mass of all living matter in a specific area
Renewable
In energy management, an energy source that is either potentially renewable or nondepletable.
Energy Conservation
The implementation of methods to use less energy.
Tiered Rate
A billing system used by some electric companies in which customers pay higher rates as their use goes up.
Energy Efficiency
The ratio of the amount of work done to the total amount of energy introduced to the system.
Peak Demand
The greatest quantity of energy used at any one time.
Passive Polar Energy
Construction designed to take advantage of solar radiation without active technology.
Thermal Inertia
The ability of a material to maintain its temperature.
Modern Carbon
Carbon in biomass that was recently in the atmosphere.
Fossil Carbon
Carbon in fossil fuels.
Carbon Neutral
An activity that does not change atmospheric CO2 concentrations.
Net Removal
The process of removing more than is replaced by growth, typically used when referring to carbon.
Biofuel
Liquid fuels created from processed or refined biomass
Ethanol
Alcohol made by converting starches and sugars from plant material into alcohol and CO2.
Biodiesal
A diesel substitute produced by extracting and chemically altering oil from plants.
Flex-Fuel Vehical
A vehicle that runs on either gasoline or ethanol.
Run-of-the-River
Hydroelectricity generation in which water is retained behind a low dam or no dam.
Water Impoundment
The storage of water in a reservoir behind a dam.
Tidal Energy
Energy that comes from the movement of water driven by the gravitational pull of the Moon.
Siltation
The accumulation of sediments, primarily silt, on the bottom of a reservoir.
Active Solar Energy
Energy captured from sunlight with intermediate technologies.
Photovoltaic Solar Cell
A system of capturing energy from sunlight and converting it directly into electricity.
Geothermal Energy
Heat energy that comes from the natural radioactive decay of elements deep within Earth.
Ground Source Heat Pump
A technology that transfers heat from the ground to a building.
Wind Energy
Energy generated from the kinetic energy of moving air.
Wind Turbine
A turbine that converts wind energy into electricity.
Fuel Cell
An electrical-chemical device that converts fuel, such as hydrogen, into an electrical current.
Electrolysis
The application of an electric current to water molecules to split them into hydrogen and oxygen.
Smart Grid
An effcient, self-regulating electricity distribution network that accepts any source of electricity and distributes it effectively to end users.
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