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Air sealed: A building envelope that minimizes air leakage, improving energy efficiency.

Blower door: A device used to measure the air leakage rate of a building.

Car charging: Infrastructure for charging electric vehicles (see EVs).

Carbon credit / carbon offset: Currently in the US this is voluntarily investing in projects that remove carbon from the atmosphere to compensate for emissions created in other enterprises. Worldwide the ‘carbon market’ is evolving, and true carbon pricing would rapidly accelerate the energy transition. (For more information on why it’s so important, see ‘Tragedy of the Commons’.)

Carbon footprint: The total amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere due to a person’s, a building’s, or an organization's activities. There are other harmful greenhouse gasses like methane (aka natural gas), but CO2 is the biggest contributor to global warming.

Carbon neutral / Carbon negative: Indicates that a given project or product has removed more carbon from the atmosphere than emitted, resulting in a net environmental benefit. Can be part of a misleading marketing campaign (see ‘Greenwashing’).

Climate change: Long-term shifts in temperature and typical weather patterns across the globe primarily caused by human activities.

Compost: Organic matter decomposed and recycled to create a nutrient-rich soil amendment. Hot tip: Keep a compost container in the freezer- it totally eliminates odor and accelerates the breakdown of plant matter once thawed.

Community solar: A shared solar energy system where multiple households benefit from a single solar installation located on a common roofspace or another location altogether.

Community wind: Wind energy projects owned by local residents, offering them a stake in clean energy production and its benefits.

General contractor: A licensed professional responsible for the construction of a building or project.

Decarbonization: The process of reducing and eventually eliminating carbon dioxide emissions from energy use, transportation, and industrial processes. We can do it!

E-bikes: If you haven’t tried one, try one! Try replacing just a few car trips a week. Drive a bike to work without breaking a sweat. Bike to the store to pick up some groceries. Cities and towns across the country are creating livelier and safer neighborhoods by creating safe bike lanes. See Tom Lent’s E-BIKE 1000 MPG Project

Electric vehicles (EVs): Vehicles powered by electricity stored in batteries.

Energy efficiency: Using less energy to achieve the same outcome.

Energy Star: A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency program that identifies and promotes energy-efficient appliances and other products.

Energy recovery ventilation (ERV): A system that recovers both heat and moisture from exhaust air to pre-condition incoming ventilation air. Used in Passive Houses to keep air fresh without losing energy.

Environmental services: Services that protect or improve the environment, such as environmental consulting or remediation.

ESG: Environmental, Social, and Governance factors considered in investment decisions.

European style windows: Highly engineered windows and doors with multiple panes of insulated glass and other features designed for maximum efficiency. Some of them seal shut with a satisfying whunk, like a Mercedes car door.

Global warming: The long-term rise in the average temperature of the Earth's climate system. Most scientists say it is critically important to limit it to 1.5º Celsius above pre-industrial levels, but we could exceed that number much sooner. Changing the global energy system can seem like an impossible task, but if everyone takes meaningful action, we will survive and even thrive. There is no planet B.

Green Building: Generally following sustainable practices. There are various ‘green’ certification programs including LEED, Passive House, Living Building Challenge and Green Globes, among others.

Greenhouse Effect: The blanketing effect of particles and gases (mostly manmade) that allow the Sun’s shortwave radiation (light) to enter Earth’s atmosphere, but prevent longwave radiation (heat) from leaving.

Greenwashing: deceptive marketing tactics that make a company or product appear more environmentally friendly than it really is.

The Grid: A network of power plants that generate electricity, the high-voltage transmission lines, substations, and the local distribution lines that deliver it to your home or business. constantly balancing supply and demand.

Heat pump: A device that can very efficiently heat or cool air or water by transferring thermal energy between two areas.

Heat pump clothes dryer: An energy-efficient clothes dryer that uses a heat pump instead of gas or a traditional electric heating element. We love the space saving Miele T1 . Doesn’t need 220V power, just a regular plug. No vent needed, either, the water is removed and piped to your washing machine’s water drain. (For extra points, skip the dryer altogether - a clothes line or an indoor drying rack work surprisingly well.

Heat pump water heater: A water heater that uses a heat pump to extract heat from the air or ground to heat water. The cool air emitted by this magic appliance can be used to cool your house, or can be vented to the exterior in cooler months.

High performance windows: Windows designed for superior energy efficiency, often incorporating multiple panes, insulation, and coatings.

Indoor air quality: Literally the air we breathe when we’re at home. Most people see a huge improvement in indoor air quality when they go all-electric, installing heat pumps and induction stoves. Tightly sealed Passive Homes use sophisticated ventilation systems that remove indoor odors and outdoor particulates including wildfire smoke.

Induction stove: A type of cooktop that uses electromagnetic fields to directly heat cookware, offering improved efficiency and safety. It’s hard to believe we’ve been convinced that ‘cooking with gas’ is superior. It really isn’t. Why would we burn methane (cleverly branded as ‘natural’ gas) inside our homes ?!

IRA (see Inflation Reduction Act): A U.S. law that includes significant investments in clean energy and climate change solutions.

LEED: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a very well-established green building certification program. But not a LEED certification is not a guarantee of efficiency.

Off the grid: Not connected to the main electricity grid, typically relying on renewable energy sources for power.

Owner's Rep : An abbreviation for Owner's Representative. Usually brought on for larger jobs, an owner’s rep is essentially a project manager empowered to act on behalf of the homeowner/s, acting as their main liaison with the design and construction team. They attend the weekly meetings so you don’t have to.

Passive house (or Passivehaus): A building standard for highly energy-efficient structures that emphasizes extreme efficiency to minimize heating and cooling demands. Originated in Austria (hence the Euro spelling). Not really related to the 1970’s concept of ‘passive solar’.

Rebates: Financial rewards provided as partial refunds for the purchase or installation of energy-efficient equipment. 

Solar power - aka Photovoltaic (PV) Solar: Solar panels that convert sunlight directly into electricity which can then be used or stored in batteries. They work at decreased capacity on cloudy days.

Sufficiency: A step beyond efficiency, sufficiency focuses on only using what we need. Building only as much house as you actually need, reducing waste, repurposing things we already have. Credit to Lloyd Alter.

Thermal networks: Systems that distribute and share heat energy between multiple buildings or communities. More common in colder climates.

Tragedy of the Commons: When a number of people and corporations enjoy unfettered access to a finite, valuable resource, such as the earth’s atmosphere, they will tend to over-use it, and may end up destroying its value altogether.

Wind energy: One of the most effective renewable energy resources, and a great complement to solar. Often opposed by fossil fuel industry groups promoting misinformation about the negative impacts of wind turbines.