Earth Notes: Glossary of Technical and Green Terms

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

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

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)

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

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