Glossary
Alternating Current (AC)
An alternating current (AC) is an electrical current whose magnitude and direction vary cyclically, as opposed to direct current, whose direction remains constant. Used generically, AC refers to the form in which electricity is delivered to businesses and residences.
Amp
an ampere
Ampere
a unit of electrical current
Atom
An atom is the smallest particle that comprises a chemical element.
Battery
two or more primary cells connected to provide a source of electric current.
Burrow
A hole or tunnel that an animal uses to live in.
Carbon Dioxide
Carbon dioxide (“CO2”) is a naturally occurring gas in the atmosphere. It is released into the atmosphere when solid waste, fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, and coal), and wood and wood products are burned. For most countries carbon dioxide is the dominant greenhouse gas emission caused by human activities. In New Zealand, the main greenhouse gas is methane because of the country's extensive pastoral agriculture activities.
Circuit
a complete path through which an electric current can flow
Climate Change
Climate change refers to the variation in the Earth's global climate or in regional climates over time. It describes changes in the variability or average state of the atmosphere-or average weather-over time scales ranging from decades to millions of years. These changes may come from processes internal to the Earth, be driven by external forces (e.g. variations in sunlight intensity) or, most recently, be caused by human activities.
Cold-blooded animals
A group of animals that stay as warm or as cool as the air around them. They use the sun to keep them warm. Fish, frogs, reptiles and insects are cold-blooded animals. Scientists call these animals ‘Ectotherms’. Note: some fish and reptiles are very nearly warm-blooded (e.g. tuna keep warmer than the surrounding water).
Current (I)
Flow of electric charge. 1 amp = 1 coulomb per second.
Direct Current (DC)
Direct current (DC or "continuous current") is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries and solar cells. In direct current, the electric charges flow in the same direction, distinguishing it from alternating current (AC).
Diversity of generation
Genesis Energy believes in generating electricity from lots of sources to make sure there is enough energy for everybody to use and not run out in the future. Genesis Energy generates electricity from burning coal and natural gas; wind farms and hydro electric power.
Durable
Tough, hard-wearing and long-lasting
Efficiency
Ratio of output power to input power of a device. Easy to remember as ‘what you want’ divided by ‘what you pay for’.
Electrical energy
Energy is required to push charges/electrons (current) through the various components of a circuit. This is generally provided by a power supply that sets up an electric potential (energy) difference between its terminals.
Global Warming
Global warming is the observed increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and oceans in recent decades.
Gold leaf
Pieces of gold that have been beaten into very thin sheets
Greenhouse Effect
The process in which the absorption of infrared radiation by an atmosphere warms a planet. The natural greenhouse effect is due to naturally occurring greenhouse gases while the enhanced greenhouse effect results from gases emitted as a result of human activities.
Greenhouse Gas
Some greenhouse gases occur naturally in the atmosphere, while others result from human activities. Naturally occurring greenhouse gases include water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Certain human activities, however, add to the levels of most of these naturally occurring gases.
Grid-connected
A premises is generally said to have obtained grid connection when its electricity is supplied from the national electricity grid
Hibernate
When an animal slows its body down into a kind of sleep, so that it is very still for a very long time.
Incident power
The rate at which energy strikes the surface of, for example, a photovoltaic cell or module.
Insulation
Insulation is a material such as wool, polystyrene, glass wool, mineral wool, paper-based insulation and polyester that reduces unwanted heat loss or gain in a building.
Inverse square law
If something, e.g. light or sound radiates uniformly into space from a point source, then, at a distance d from the source, the power flux will be given by, P/πd2 where P is the total power emitted by the source. The flux decreases as the inverse square of the distance from the source.
Inverter
An inverter is an electronic circuit that converts direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC).
Isolating transformer
the term 'isolating transformer' is normally applied to mains transformers providing isolation rather than voltage transformation
Junction Box
A special box that is glued in place over the positive and negative connection points on the solar module to keep the connections waterproof.
Kilowatt (kW)
A unit used to measure electricity. The equivalent to 1000 watts.
Kilowatt hour
the energy represented by 1 kilowatt of power consumed for a period of 1 hour,
Linear regression
A mathematical technique for finding the equation of a straight line that best fits a set of data, and evaluating the fit.
Load resistance
A device or appliance in the external part of an electric circuit that uses (dissipates) electrical energy.
Mammal
An animal that feeds its babies milk. These animals have fur or hair and they are warm-blooded.
Multimeter
An instrument to measure various electrical properties, usually potential difference across a component in volts, current through part of a circuit, in amps, and resistance of components in ohms.
Nocturnal
To be busy at night and to rest during the day.
Ohm’s law
For devices made of certain materials it is found that the ratio of the voltage across the device to the current through it is a constant i.e. does not vary as the current is varied, until electrical breakdown, or melting occurs. Such materials are said to be ohmic, and obey Ohm’s Law V = IR
Open circuit voltage
The maximum voltage produced by a device corresponding to infinite load resistance, or zero current.
Pant
When an animals breathes in short fast breaths to help it cool down
Photons
The smallest units of light energy. When energy is transferred from light or other forms of electromagnetic radiation to matter, it does so in fixed amounts called photons. The energy of a photon is related to the frequency of the electromagnetic radiation by Planck’s Constant, h: Ephoton = hf.
Photovoltaic (PV)
Photovoltaic is a solar power technology that uses solar photovoltaic arrays or solar cells to generate electricity.
Photovoltaic (PV) cell
Device that converts light energy (photons) to electrical energy. Traditional, first generation photovoltaics consist essentially of a junction between two types of doped silicon semiconductor material, similar to a transistor diode.
Photovoltaic module
Several photovoltaic cells connected in series and/or parallel to increase the output voltage and/or current.
Power (P)
The rate at which energy is released, transmitted or converted to another form; the rate of doing work. 1Watt = 1 Joule per second.
Power dissipated in resistor
The rate at which electrical energy is required to push through a resistor. P = VI. In a normal resistor, the electrical energy is generally transformed to heat.
Power (electricity) meters
An electric meter or power meter is a device that measures the amount of electrical energy supplied to or produced by a residence, business or machine.
Renewable energy
Renewable energy comes from a naturally occurring resource that is continually replenished without using fossil fuels or any other limited resource. These include water (hydro electricity), wind farms, steam (geothermal sources) and the sun (solar energy).
Reptile
An animal that is cold-blooded and has scales on its body. Most of these animals lay their eggs on land. Snakes, crocodiles, lizards, turtles, tortoises and Tuatara are all reptiles.
Resistance (R)
An impedance to the flow of charge (current) in a circuit.
Selenium
A chemical element that allows electricity to flow through it.
Semi-conducting material
a solid material that has electrical conductivity in between that of a conductor and that of an insulator. Silicon is used to create most semiconductors commercially
Short circuit current (Isc)
The maximum current that can be produced by a device: corresponds to the hypothetical situation of use in a circuit with zero resistance, therefore zero voltage.
Silicon
A chemical element that allows electricity to flow through it
Silicon wafer
A wafer is a thin slice of semiconductor material, such as a silicon crystal
Solar cell
See PV cell
Solar Constant (S)
The rate of incidence of solar energy on Earth is described by the Solar Constant, S, equal to the power per unit area incident on an imaginary surface perpendicular to the Sun’s rays at the top of the atmosphere. S = 1415 W/m2.
Solar module
Refer to solar panel
Solar Panel
A solar panel is a device that collects and converts solar energy into electricity or heat.
Solar Thermal Collector
A solar thermal collector is a solar collector specifically intended to collect heat: that is, to absorb sunlight to provide heat
Sweat
Water that an animal’s skin lets out to help cool the body down.
Transistor
A device used to control or increase the flow of electricity
Transmitter
A device that changes sound into electricity or electricity into sound
Tuatara
A reptile that lives in New Zealand. It looks like a lizard but it comes from a different reptile group called Rhynchocephalia, or ‘beak head’. Tuatara have soft spikes on their backs and a third eye. They come from a reptile group that lived on Earth before the dinosaurs.
Turbine
any of the various types of machine in which the kinetic energy of a moving fluid, as water, steam, air etc, is converted into mechanical energy by causing a bladed rotor to rotate. In electrical instances, the turbine is attached to and spins a generator to produce electricity.
Volt
unit of electrical potential. The difference between two points on a conductor carrying a current of 1 ampere when the power dissipated between these points is 1 watt.
Voltage
an electromotive force or potential difference expressed in volts.
Voltage (V)
The (potential) energy difference that pushes charge (electrons) through a circuit. 1 Volt corresponds to energy of 1 Joule per Coulomb.
Watt
The watt (symbol: W) is the SI derived unit of power, equal to one joule of energy per second.
Warm-blooded animals
These animals keep their bodies warm all of the time. They do this by making heat inside their bodies. These animals also have hair or feathers. Birds are warm-blooded and so are mammals. The proper science name for these animals is ‘Endotherms’.
