Cleantech Glossary

Btu (British thermal unit): The amount of heat required to raise one pound of water one degree in temperature Fahrenheit. Heating and cooling equipment such as solar thermal or molten salt batteries are commonly rated using Btus they can deliver or absorb.

Carbon Neutral: Balancing CO2 being released with an equal amount offset or sequestered. This may be achieved through planting trees which consume CO2 and release Oxygen. Carbon Neutral businesses or operations or those which release no CO2 or offset their output using some fashion. Though many operations are carbon neutral most net cradle to grave sequences are not, they require the production of CO2 to begin, to build solar panels or wind turbines to then run without producing CO2 from that point forward.

Fluorescent Light: An energy efficient light source technology that uses an ionization process to produce ultraviolet radiation. This radiation becomes visible light when it hits the coated inner surface of a bulb or tube. Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL) use 50% to 80% less energy than traditional incandescent light sources.

Green: A term used to describe environmentally sustainable or nature friendly people, products, businesses, events and other nouns. Being green is about taking the health of natural systems into account while performing an action

Greenwashing: A term evolved from the meaning of whitewashing that describes deceitful convincing or lying in order to convince a person that a service is green or nature friendly. Greenwashing implies that little or no true consideration for the environment is truly being given to a product or service that is being promoted with such interests in mind.

Vampire Draw: The loss of energy through electronic charging devices that overcharge or leak energy in the form of heat. Also referred to as standby power, vampire power loss, phantom load or leaking electricity. Solutions include unplugging chargers, built in shut-off switches and newer smart adapters that auto shut to prevent power loss.