Chapter 13 - Achieving Energy Sustainability

Question 1

Nonrenewable

Answer 1

An energy source with a finite supply, primarily the fossil fuels and nuclear fuels.

Question 2

Potentially renewable

Answer 2

An energy source that can be regenerated indefinitely as long as it is not overharvested.

Question 3

Nondepletable

Answer 3

An energy source that cannot be used up.

Question 4

Energy Conservation

Answer 4

Finding and implementing ways to use less energy.

Question 5

Tiered Rate System

Answer 5

A billing system used by some electric companies in which customers pay higher rates as their use goes up.

Question 6

Peak Demand

Answer 6

The greatest quantity of energy used at any one time.

Question 7

Brownout

Answer 7

An intentional or unintentional drop in voltage in an electrical power supply system. Intentional brownouts are used for load reduction in an emergency

Question 8

Blackout

Answer 8

Is a short- or long-term loss of the electric power to an area

Question 9

Sustainable Design

Answer 9

The philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of social, economic, and ecological sustainability

Question 10

Passive Solar Design

Answer 10

Construction designed to take advantage of solar radiation without active technology.

Question 11

Thermal Inertia

Answer 11

A property of a building material that allows it to maintain heat or cold.

Question 12

Biofuels

Answer 12

Liquid fuel created from processed or refined biomass.

Question 13

Modern Carbon

Answer 13

Carbon in biomass that was recently in the atmosphere.

Question 14

Fossil Carbon

Answer 14

Carbon in fossil fuels.

Question 15

Carbon Neutral

Answer 15

An activity that does not change atmospheric CO2 concentrations.

Question 16

Net Removal

Answer 16

The process of removing more than is replaced by growth, typically used when referring to carbon.

Question 17

Solid Biomass

Answer 17

Wood, charcoal, manure; potentially renewable, eliminate waste from the environment; can cause deforestation, erosion, and indoor/outdoor pollution

Question 18

Ethanol

Answer 18

Alcohol made by converting starches and sugars from plant material into alcohol and CO2.

Question 19

Flex-fuel vehicles

Answer 19

A vehicle that runs on either gasoline or a gasoline/ethanol mixture.

Question 20

Biodiesel

Answer 20

A diesel substitute produced by extracting and chemically altering oil from plants.

Question 21

Hydroelectricity

Answer 21

Electricity generated by the kinetic energy of moving water.

Question 22

Run-of-the-river

Answer 22

Hydroelectricity generation in which water is retained behind a low dam or no dam.

Question 23

Water Impoundment

Answer 23

The storage of water in a reservoir behind a dam.

Question 24

Tidal Energy System

Answer 24

Energy that comes from the movement of water driven by the gravitational pull of the Moon.

Question 25

Fish Ladder

Answer 25

A stair-like structure that allows migrating fish to get around a dam.

Question 26

Siltation

Answer 26

The accumulation of sediments, primarily silt, on the bottom of a reservoir.

Question 27

Box Cooker / solar oven

Answer 27

A device which uses the energy of direct sunlight to heat, cook or pasteurize drink and other food materials.

Question 28

Passive solar heating

Answer 28

The use of sunlight to heat buildings directly

Question 29

Active solar energy

Answer 29

Energy captured from sunlight with intermediate technologies.

Question 30

solar water heating

Answer 30

Heat from the sun heats water in glass panels which is used for hot water or for heating

Question 31

Photovoltaic solar cells

Answer 31

A system of capturing energy from sunlight and converting it directly into electricity.

Question 32

Concentrated solar thermal

Answer 32

Solar collectors reflect light and are used to heat a liquid that can spin a turbine to generate electricity

Question 33

Geothermal Energy

Answer 33

Heat energy that comes from the natural radioactive decay of elements deep within Earth.

Question 34

Ground Source heat pump

Answer 34

A technology that transfers heat from the ground to a building.

Question 35

Wind Energy

Answer 35

Energy generated from the kinetic energy of moving air.

Question 36

Wind turbine

Answer 36

A turbine that converts wind energy into electricity.

Question 37

fuel cell

Answer 37

An electrical-chemical device that converts fuel, such as hydrogen, into an electrical current.

Question 38

Electrolysis

Answer 38

The application of an electric current to water molecules to split them into hydrogen and oxygen.

Question 39

Electrical grid

Answer 39

A network of interconnected transmission lines that joins power plants together and links them with end users of electricity.

Question 40

smart grid

Answer 40

An efficient, self-regulating electricity distribution network that accepts any source of electricity and distributes it automatically to end users.

Question 41

Capacity

Answer 41

In reference to an electricity-generating plant, the maximum electrical output.

Question 42

Cogeneration

Answer 42

The use of a fuel to generate electricity and produce heat.

Question 43

Energy Efficiency

Answer 43

The ratio of the amount of energy expended in the form you want to the total amount of energy that is introduced into the system.

Question 44

Low E windows

Answer 44

allows heat from the sun to enter the building but significantly reduces heat loss from inside the building, by reflecting radiant heat back into the room

Question 45

triple glazed windows

Answer 45

consist of three sheets of glass, each separated by an air gap. The air gaps provide the insulating layers that slow down the heat loss and reduce the opportunity for condensation to form

Question 46

waste-to-energy

Answer 46

A system in which heat generated by incineration Capacity as an energy source rather than released into the atmosphere.