Archive for the ‘Eco-Glossary’ Category
Relative Humidity
If you have drafty windows you may be experiencing some of the effects of Relative Humidity. Warm moist air hits the cold surface of your window, it cools down and some of the moisture in the air condenses on the glass.
Relative Humidity is a term used to describe the amount of water vapor in air at a specific [...]
January 22, 2010
Posted in: Eco-Glossary, Indoor Air Quality 
No Comments
Solar Heating
November 27, 2009
Tags: Solar Posted in: Alternative Energy, Eco-Glossary No Comments
R-value:
A measure of how well or poorly a material resists conductive heat flow through it. Insulation has a high relative R-value, while solid materials like concrete, glass and stone have low relative R-values. This value increases linearly with respect to the thickness. R-value only takes into consideration conduction and does not address the other two [...]
November 7, 2009
Tags: Insulation Posted in: Eco-Glossary No Comments
Building Envelope:
This is the barrier between the inside and the outside of your house. It consists of generic elements such as exterior walls, windows, doors, roofs, ceilings and floors, and specific elements such as vapor barrier, weather stripping, insulation, glazing, and exterior finish materials. It’s purpose is to limit fire, heat and water vapor [...]
September 12, 2009
Tags: Insulation, Weatherize Posted in: Eco-Glossary, Energy Conservation, Indoor Air Quality, Weatherize No Comments
Thermal Mass:
A building material, typically one that is fairly dense such as stone, ceramic tile, concrete, plaster or brick that is  used to store heat and reduce temperature fluctuation in a space. This is accomplished when the material absorbs heat while the air is warmer than it and then releases heat slowly over time once the [...]
August 17, 2009
Posted in: Alternative Energy, Eco-Glossary, Energy Conservation No Comments
Solar Collector:
Any device used to capture or concentrate the sun’s energy which can then be used for another purpose. Â Solar collectors come in many forms they can be a south facing window, solar thermal panel, solar electric panels (photovoltaic), a coil of black hose, or dark surfaced thermal mass.
August 8, 2009
Tags: Alternative Energy Posted in: Alternative Energy, Eco-Glossary No Comments
