Earth Notes: Glossary of Technical and Green Terms
Updated 2021-01-11 21:36 GMT.What Is ...?
A common type of battery with lead plates and a sulphuric acid electrolyte. Initially invented in the late 1800s. Used in many applications from cars and other motor vehicles through to electric vehicles, and storage for on-grid and off-grid renewable energy. Comes in common variants such as flooded, AGM and gel, and often in multiples of 12V. Very good support for chargers, solar controllers, etc. Lead-acid batteries generally do not take well to being discharged such that the SoC (State of Charge) is under 50% of full charge any significant amount.
Also known as:
- lead-acid
- Flooded Lead-Acid (FLA)
- Advanced Glass Mat (AGM)
- Sealed Lead-Acid (SLA, including gel and AGM)
- gel
- PbSO4
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A Lithium-chemistry battery known for resistance to overheating and fires compared to Li-ion, at the cost of a slight reduction in energy density. All Lithium batteries need relatively careful management, eg with a BMS (Battery Management System), but are notably able to be discharged to a much lower SoC (State of Charge) than lead-acid batteries typically.
Also known as:
- Lithium Iron Phosphate
- LiFePO4
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A method to improve ventilation while retaining heat (or cool) in a building. In other words, achieve fresher air and lower energy bills. This is accomplished with a heat exchanger between in-flowing and out-flowing air, often a counter-current heat-exchanger. Sometimes the flows enter and exit the building via a central unit. With Single Room MHRV (SRMHRV or SRHRV) the mechanism exchanges air directly through an exterior wall in each equipped room.
Also known as:
- MVRH (Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery)
- SRMHRV (Single Room Mechanical Heat-Recovery Ventilation)
- SRHRV (Single Room Heat-Recovery Ventilation)
- HRV (Heat Recovery Ventilation)
- ERV (Energy Recovery Ventilation)
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Device or system to generate electricity from light, often sunlight, for example using solar panels on the roof of a building. Electricity produced by a solar PV system can be used locally, stored locally, or exported to an existing local grid, as determined by cost and technical factors. Solar PV comes in a number of forms, but common types are silicon monocrystalline, polycrystalline and amorphous.
Also known as:
- solar power
- solar panel
- solar cell
- monocrystalline PV
- polycrystalline PV
- amorphous PV
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A wind turbine, often for generating electricity, that spins around a vertical axis. Common designs of VAWT include Darrieus and Savonius. Compare with the more common HAWT (Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbine.
Also known as:
- wind turbine
- windmill
- transverse axis wind turbine
- cross-flow wind turbine
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Other Glossaries
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