Yeang K., Woo L. Dictionary of Ecodesign: An Illustrated Reference

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from automobiles. The target set by the Kyoto

Protocol was an 8% reduction of emission in all

sectors of the economy compared with 1990 levels

by 2008–12. Research indicates that passenger

cars account for more than half the transport-

related carbon dioxide (CO

) emission in the USA,

and about half that in the European Union, with

air transport accounting for less than 20% in

both. For example, the US CAFE emission limits

are mandatory, and the European emission limits

for exhaust emissions of new vehicles sold in the

EU member states are voluntary, under the ACEA

agreement. The emissions standards are deﬁned

in a series of standards and regulate the emission

of nitrogen oxides (NO

), hydrocarbons, carbon

monoxide (CO), and particulate matter. Vehicles

regulated include cars, trucks, trains, tractors

and other machinery, and barges, but exclude

seagoing ships and airplanes. In late 2006 the

European Commission announced its proposal

for a legally binding limit of CO

emissions from

cars. In addition, the European Conference of

Ministers of Transport and the Organization of

Economic Cooperation and Development moni-

tor vehicle emissions and air quality to ensure

levels continue to decrease.

The Clean Air Initiative (CAI) with active

operations in Asia, Latin America, sub-Saharan

Africa, Europe, and Central Asia, also monitors

air quality and focuses on decreasing emissions

through improved fuel quality, emissions con-

trol technology, and alternative fuels. Although

many of these regions include developing

nations, the same emissions regulations apply.

Economically developed countries including

Russia, China, India, and Japan have instituted

their own emissions standards for vehicles in

addition to those of the CAI. See also:

ACEA

agreement; Clean Air Initiative; Corporate Average

Fuel Economy (CAFE); Kyoto Protocol

Emissions standards, designations The Cali-

fornia Air Resources Board initiated, and the US

federal government concurred, low emissions

standard designations for: i) inherently low-emis-

sion vehicles (ILEV); ii) partial zero-emission

vehicles (PZEV); iii) super-ultra-low-emission

vehicles (SULEV); iv) ultra-low-emission vehicles

(ULEV); and v) zero-emission vehicles (ZEV).

Emissions trading Also known as cap and trade

or offset allowances. This practice uses economic

incentives to achieve reductions of pollutant

emissions. Usually administered by a govern-

ment agency, emissions trading plans set a limit

or cap on the amount of a speciﬁc pollutant that

can be emitted. The agency issues credits or

allowances to individual companies or other

groups to emit the pollutant up to the speciﬁed

limit. The total amount of credits cannot exceed

the maximum amount of emissions set by the

agency. If a company pollutes more than its

allowance, it must buy credits from those who

pollute less than their allowance, or face heavy

penalties. This transfer of credits is referred to as

a trade. In economic terms, the buyer pays for

polluting, while the seller beneﬁts for having

reduced emissions. There are currently several

very large trading systems, most notably the

European Union. The carbon market makes up

the bulk of trade pollutants.

Emissivity Indication of a surface’s ability to emit

heat by radiation, to let go of heat via radiant

energy. The lower the emissivity, the better the

radiant barrier qualities of a material. Emissivity

is measured on a scale of 0 to 1, with 1 indi-

cating 100% emittance. Highly polished alumi-

num, for example, has an emittance of less than

0.1; a black, nonmetallic surface has an emittance

of more than 0.9. Most nonmetallic, opaque

materials at temperatures encountered in the

built environment have emittance values between

0.85 and 0.955. Most foil-type radiant barriers

have emissivity of 0.05 or below, which means

95% of the radiant heat is being blocked. Heat

retention or minimized heat loss reduces reliance

on electromechanical heating systems.

88 Emissions standards, designations

Encapsulation A method of sealing one sub-

stance within a protective envelope using another

material. For example, liquid used to provide a

protective coating over asbestos-containing mate-

rials and ﬁbers, which helps prevent emission of

asbestos into the atmosphere.

Endangered species Animals, birds, ﬁsh, plants

or other living organisms threatened with extinc-

tion by anthropogenic or natural changes in

their environment.

Endemism Geographical locality in which

species are restricted to a single region.

Endocrine disruptors Toxic chemicals—syn-

thetic chemicals that either mimic or block

hormones and disrupt the body’s normal func-

tions when absorbed into the body. This dis-

ruption can happen through altering normal

hormone levels, halting or stimulating the

production of hormones, or changing the way

hormones travel through the body, thus affect-

ing the functions they control. Chemicals that

are known human endocrine disruptors include

diethylstilbesterol, dioxin, polychlorinated biphe-

nyls (PCBs), DDT, and some other pesticides.

Many chemicals, particularly pesticides and

plasticizers, are suspected endocrine disruptors

based on limited animal studies. See also:

Toxic

chemicals

Endothermic A heat-absorbing reaction, or a

reaction that requires heat.

Energetics In ecology, the study of the eco-

system’s energy exchanges and metabolism or

efﬁciencies. Energetics converts the biomass of

an ecosystem into energy units.

Energy The capacity to do work. Various

types of energy include heat, light, sound,

potential, chemical, kinetic, and electrical. All

these energies ﬂow in and out of buildings.

Energy cost Monetary cost to produce a unit

of energy, such as a kilowatt hour.

Energy crops Crops grown speciﬁcally for

their fuel value. These include food crops such

as corn and sugar cane, and nonfood crops

such as poplar trees and switchgrass. Currently

two energy crops are under development: short-

rotation woody crops, which are fast-growing

hardwood trees harvested in 5 to 8 years; and

herbaceous energy crops, such as perennial

grasses, which are harvested annually after

taking 2–3 years to reach full productivity.

Barley, rapeseed, sugar beet, sorghum, and

wheat are also energy crops.

Energy intensity Ratio of energy consumption

to a measure of the demand for services, such

as total ﬂoor space, number of buildings, or

number of employees.

Energy management and control system

(EMCS) A computer system with sensors, actua-

tors, and programming to conserve energy in

buildings. Energy management programs range

from starting and stopping equipment, to per-

forming energy optimization on complicated

groups of lighting, heating, and cooling equip-

ment. Various communication protocols exist,

including open protocols and proprietary proto-

cols, which enable the computer system to

acquire data and control remote equipment.

These devices are used in ecodesign to con-

serve the use of nonrenewable energy in build-

ings, and are part of the full mode system in

ecodesign. See also:

Full mode design

Energy Plus Energy simulation model created

by the US Department of Energy. It is a successor

to DOE-2. Energy Plus models heating, cooling,

lighting, ventilating, and other energy ﬂows, as

well as water, in buildings. While originally

based on the most popular features and cap-

abilities of BLAST and DOE-2, Energy Plus

Energy Plus 89

includes some new simulation capabilities, such

as time steps of less than an hour, modular systems

and plant integrated with heat balance-based

zone simulation, multizone air ﬂow, thermal

comfort, water use, natural ventilation, and

photovoltaic systems. See also:

BLAST; DOE-2

Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct) A com-

prehensive US Congress package that mandated

and encouraged energy efﬁciency standards,

alternative fuel use, and the development of

renewable energy technologies. Public Law

102-486, October 24, 1992. Also authorized

the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to

order the owners of electric power transmission

lines to transmit or “wheel” power for power

generators, including electric power providers,

federal power marketing authorities, and exempt

wholesale generators.

Energy recovery ventilator (ERV) Mechanical

equipment that features a heat exchanger com-

bined with a ventilation system to provide con-

trolled ventilation into a building. An ERV with

humidity regulation incorporates a method to

remove excess humidity or add humidity to the

ventilating air that is being brought into a built

structure. Equipment was ﬁrst introduced as air-

to-air heat exchangers in the colder regions of

the USA, Canada, Europe, and Scandinavia in

the 1980s. In these areas, tightly built modern

houses were developing problems with internal

air quality and excessive humidity during the

winter. The air-to-air heat exchanger brought in

fresh outside air to combat these problems, and

preheated it at the same time. These products

are now called heat recovery ventilators. See

also:

Heat recovery ventilator

Energy Star US government program to

promote energy efﬁcient consumer products.

Engine Machine that transforms energy into

mechanical energy.

Engineered controls Method of managing

environmental and health risks by placing a

barrier between contamination and the rest of a

site, thereby limiting exposure pathways.

Engineered sheet materials Sheet materials

made of recycled content or reconstituted

materials. Recycled content sheet products are

made from recycled newsprint, agricultural by-

products, or waste wood. Reconstituted mate-

rials use chipped or stranded small-diameter

trees as their wood source. This material is

then bound together into forms suitable for

building. Some of these products contain recy-

cled post-consumer paper, by-product gypsum

and recovered gypsum, wood chips from

“non-commercial” trees, and annually renew-

able agricultural ﬁbers. Materials include: hard-

board made from waste wood; wallboard

made from perlite, gypsum, and recycled post-

consumer newsprint; 100% recycled newsprint

ﬁberboard; and ﬁberboard made from straw.

Oriented-strand board (OSB) is a reconstituted

material that is now commonly used. See also:

Oriented-strand board

Engineered siding and trim Recycled-content

materials (engineered) include substances sal-

vaged from the waste stream, such as sawdust,

paper, steel, and aluminum. Recycled trim

refers to the reuse of trim salvaged from building

demolition. Reconstituted and recycled-content

siding materials resist cracking and other dete-

rioration and have greater longevity over wood

siding. Fiber-cement materials, for example,

offer very long warranties and have zero ﬂame-

spread. Steel and aluminum siding materials are

predominantly fabricated from recycled mate-

rial. Although the embodied energy is high

when the materials are originally made, they

require much less energy in a recycled form.

They can also be recycled again after use in a

building. Regarded as closing the loop in built

systems in ecodesign.

90 Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct)

Engineered structural materials See:

Wood,

structurally engineered

Enhanced greenhouse effect Natural green-

house effect is increased by anthropogenic emis-

sions of greenhouse gases. Human activities such

as fossil fuel consumption increase concentra-

tions of carbon dioxide (CO

), methane (CH

nitrogen oxides (NO

), choloroﬂuorocarbons

(CFCs), hydrochloroﬂuorocarbons (HCFCs), and

other photochemically important gases, trap more

infra-red radiation, and create warmer climates.

ENSO See:

El Niño—Southern Oscillation

Enthalpy Mathematical quantity used in ther-

modynamic calculations; equal to the internal

energy of a substance plus the pressure multiplied

by the volume (h = u + pv).

Entrained bed gasiﬁer Type of gasiﬁer that con-

verts biomass into clean fuel and is regarded as

a renewable source of energy in ecodesign. In an

entrained bed gasiﬁer the feedstock (biomass,

waste products) is suspended by the movement of

gas so that it moves through the gasiﬁer. Among

the different types of gasiﬁer, entrained bed reactors

are reported to achieve the highest gasiﬁcation

rates. These reactors operate with feed and blast

(air/steam) in co-current ﬂow with extremely short

residence time and high temperature and pressure.

This type of gasiﬁer generates product gas at high

temperature and lowest heating value with the

highest oxygen consumption. See also:

Gasiﬁer

Entropy Measure of the disorder of a system.

Environment Total physical and biological envir-

onment in which an organism lives. For human

beings, environment includes the social structure.

Environmental assessment methods and

standards for buildings See:

Green building

rating systems

Environmental contamination Term for release

into the environment of radioactive, hazardous,

and toxic materials.

Environmental cost Monetary costs of the

impacts of resource depletion, pollution, and

disturbance of habitats, and their rehabilitation.

Environmental desensitization Mechanism

designed to decrease the impact of contaminants

on humans, other fauna, and ﬂora. Examples

include buffer zones between degraded areas

such as landﬁlls and inhabited areas; or scented

vapor applied to an odor-contaminated area.

Consideration needs to be given to the ecological

resilience of the ecosystem.

Environmental impact statement Assessment

of an action on an environment and the envir-

onmental consequences that may result. In the

USA, a federal requirement for major projects.

Environmental indicator Species with speciﬁc

tolerance limits that provides information about

the environment in which it grows, such as a

plant that grows in areas of high acidity. The

environmental conditions that allow certain

species to survive successfully. Used in ecode-

sign to assess the environmental consequences

of human interventions and built systems.

Environmental integration in design Designing

within the limitations of the ecological con-

sequences of the proposed building. Design that

achieves the highest possible level of bio-

integration for that particular ecosystem, even

more than the predetermined standards of green

building rating systems. See also:

Green building

rating systems

Environmental medium or compartment

Medium through which pollutants are trans-

ported. The media include air, water, soil, and

biota.

Environmental medium or compartment 91

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Environmental Protection Agency, US See:

US Environmental Protection Agency

Environmental rehabilitation restoration Repair

to sites and ecosystems damaged by anthropogenic

activities or natural disasters.

Environmental risk 1. Potential for adverse

effects on living organisms associated with pol-

lution of the environment by efﬂuents, emissions,

wastes, or accidental chemical releases.

2. Depletion of natural resources.

Environmental sustainability Maintenance of

an environment, ecosystems, and natural resources

for future generations. The primary principle of

ecodesign.

Environmentally preferable Products and activ-

ities that damage the environment less than

competing products and activities.

EPA, US See:

US Environmental Protection

Agency

EPAct See: Energy Policy Act of 1992

Epilimnion Upper layer of a thermally stratiﬁed

lake. This water is turbulently mixed at some

point during the day and, because of its expo-

sure to wind, can freely exchange dissolved

gases such as O

and CO

with the atmosphere.

Research indicates that the rise in global tem-

peratures results in greater stratiﬁcation in tem-

perate zone lakes because increased heating by

the Sun will create larger gradient differences

between lake strata and less mixing of the strata.

In temperate and subarctic regions, small

annual temperature increases have a great effect

on the timing and intensity of stratiﬁcation in

lakes. If the hypolimnion does not receive

oxygen from the atmosphere or enough light

penetration for photosynthesis, subsurface algae

will not develop the nutrients they need. This

will alter algal assemblages and, subsequently,

the food chains in lakes.

Epiphyte Plant, fungus or microbe sustained

entirely by nutrients and water received, by

means other than a parasite, from within the

canopy in which it lives.

Episode, pollution Environmental event that

results in concentrations of atmospheric pollution

or water pollution.

Epoxies Nonbiodegradable plastics.

Equivalent temperature differential Factor used

to determine solar radiation gain through an

opaque wall.

Ergonomics Applied science that investigates

the impact of people’s physical environment on

their health and comfort.

Erosion Wearing away of land surface by wind

or water, intensiﬁed by land-clearing practices

related to farming, residential, or industrial

development, road building, or logging.

ERV See:

Energy recovery ventilator

Estuary Location where fresh and salt water

mix, such as a bay, salt marsh, or where a river

enters an ocean.

ETBE See:

Ethyl tertiary butyl ether

Ethane (C

) Flammable gas; explosive

when mixed with air. Structurally, the simplest

hydrocarbon that contains a single carbon–carbon

bond. A by-product of oil reﬁning, it is also the

second most important constituent of natural

gas, and occurs dissolved in petroleum oils.

Ethanol (C

OH) An alternative fuel, ethanol

is an alcohol-based fuel produced by fermenting

92 Environmental Protection Agency, US

and distilling starch crops that have been converted

into simple sugars. Feedstocks for this fuel include

corn, barley, wheat, grain sorghum, sugar beet,

cheese whey, and potatoes. Ethanol can also be

produced from cellulosic biomass including trees

and grass—this is bioethanol. Ceullosic feedstocks

include corn stalks, grain straw, rice hulls, sugar

cane bagasse, switchgrass, and wood chips.

Ethanol is most commonly used to increase octane

and improve the emissions quality of gasoline.

Ether Toxic chemical. 1. Light, volatile, ﬂam-

mable liquid used chieﬂy as a solvent, and for-

merly as an anesthetic. Solvents containing

ether are dimethyl ether, an aerosol spray pro-

pellant; diethyl ether, a common, low-boiling

solvent (boiling point 34.6 °C (92.28 °F)); dime-

thoxyethane, a high-boiling solvent (boiling

point 85 °C (185 °F)); dioxane, a cyclic ether

and high-boiling solvent (boiling point 101.1 °C

(213.98 °F)); and tetrahydrofuran, a cyclic ether,

one of the most popular simple ethers used as a

solvent.

2. Any of a class of organic compounds

characterized by an oxygen atom attached to

two carbon atoms. See also:

Toxic chemicals

Ethyl tertiary butyl ether (ETBE) Fuel oxyge-

nate used as a gasoline additive for increased

octane and engine knock reduction.

Ethylbenzene Toxic chemical. Ethylbenzene is

a colorless liquid found in a number of natural

products including coal tar and petroleum. It is

also used in manufactured products such as gaso-

line, paint, insecticides, and ink. It is used primarily

to make styrene. It is also used as a solvent in fuels

and as a component of other chemicals. Breathing

very high levels can cause dizziness and throat

and eye irritation. It can be released into the air,

soil, and water. See also:

Toxic chemicals

Eutrophic Pertaining to a lake or other body

of water characterized by large nutrient

concentrations, such as nitrates and phosphates,

resulting in high productivity of algae. See also:

Mesotrophic; Oligotrophic

Eutrophication 1. Reduction of the amount of

oxygen dissolved in water. The results may

include increased algal blooms, reduced water

clarity, periods of hypoxia, decline in health of

ﬁsh and shellﬁsh, loss of seagrass beds and

coral reefs, ecological changes in food webs,

and a shift toward species that can adapt to

these conditions.

2. A slow aging process during which a lake,

estuary, or bay evolves into a bog or marsh and

eventually disappears. During the later stages of

this process, the water body is choked by plant

life that result from higher levels of nutritive

compounds such as nitrogen and phosphorus.

Ev See:

Exposure value

EV See: Electric vehicle

Evacuated-tube collector Mechanism in which

ﬂuid (such as water or diluted antifreeze) is

heated by the Sun in a solar hot water system.

Evacuated-tube collectors are made up of rows

of parallel, transparent glass tubes. Each tube

consists of a glass outer tube and an inner tube,

or absorber. The absorber is covered with a

selective coating that absorbs solar energy well,

but inhibits radiative heat loss. The air is with-

drawn (evacuated) from the space between the

tubes to form a vacuum, which eliminates con-

ductive and convective heat loss. Evacuated-

tube collectors are used for active solar hot

water systems.

Evaporation The conversion of a liquid to a

vapor (gas), usually by means of heat.

Evaporative cooling Physical process by

which a liquid or solid is transformed into the

gaseous state. For this process a mechanical

Evaporative cooling 93

device uses the outside air’s heat to evaporate

water that is held by pads inside the cooler. The

heat is drawn out of the air through this process

and the cooled air is blown into the home by

the cooler’s fan. See also:

Solar cooling

Evapotranspiration Combines the process of

evaporation and transpiration to utilize and dis-

pose of wastewater. Transpiration is the process

whereby plants take in water through their roots

and convert it to vapor, which is given off through

the leaves. A typical evapotranspiration system

consists of a septic tank for pretreatment (removal

of solids) followed by distribution into a shallow

sand bed covered with vegetation. In ecodesign,

gray water (wastewater from baths, showers, laun-

dry, and lavatory sinks) ﬂows from the house

through the septic tank and into the evapo-

transpiration bed. The gray water is distributed

through perforated pipes. Once in the sand, gray

water is taken into the plant root system. Under-

neath the bed is either a plastic lining or a very

impermeable soil, which prevents the gray water

from seeping into the ground. Black water (pri-

marily wastewater from toilets and kitchen sinks)

ﬂows into a sewer line or an alternative treatment.

Exothermic Chemical reaction that gives off heat.

Exotic species Term used to characterize

species that are not indigenous to a region.

Exposure pathway Path from sources of pol-

lutants via soil, water, or food to humans and

other species or settings.

Exposure value (Ev) Measurement of the total

light from the sky, plus the light reﬂected from

the ground and surrounding objects near

window openings. It is the illumination from the

sky on the plane of the vertical fenestration or

window wall and parallel to the wall outside

the window but beyond any obstructing part of

the building, such as overhangs and louvers.

Extensive green roof Term for a rooftop

garden that has thinner soil (usually 6 inches/

15 cm or less in depth) and shallow-rooted

plants such as turf grass or groundcover, and

does not require artiﬁcial irrigation. Good for

self-sustaining plant communities and roof gar-

dens. See also:

Cool roof; Green roof; Intensive

green roof

Extruded polystyrene (XEPS) Fabricated type

of foam core used as a structural wall panel.

Like all polystyrenes, it is a polymer made

from the monomer styrene, a liquid hydro-

carbon that is commercially manufactured from

petroleum by the chemical industry. USEPA

has estimated that it takes approximately 2000

years for polystyrene to decompose. See also:

Polystyrene

94 Evapotranspiration

Facultative bacteria Bacteria that grow equally

well under aerobic and anaerobic conditions.

FCCC See:

United Nations Framework Convention

on Climate Change

Federal Water Pollution Control Act See: Clean

Water Act

Feedstock See: Biomass feedstock

Fen See: Wetlands

Fenestration Openings in a structure: windows,

doors, skylights. Key consideration in bioclimatic

aspects of ecodesign.

Fiber optics Invented in the early 1970s,

demand for optic ﬁbers has grown very quickly.

The most common uses are telecommunications,

medicine, military, automotive, and industrial.

The ﬁbers used in telecommunications are long,

thin strands of very pure glass about the diameter

of a human hair. They are arranged in bundles

called optical cables, and used to transmit light

signals over long distances by conﬁning as much

light as possible in a propagating form. Short-

distance communication cables can be con-

structed using plastic ﬁbers. Optical ﬁber can be

used as a medium for telecommunication and

networking because it is ﬂexible and can be

bundled as cables. It is especially advantageous

for long-distance communications, because light

propagates through the ﬁber with little attenuation

compared with electrical cables.

Optical ﬁbers can be used as sensors to

measure strain, temperature, pressure, and other

parameters. Their small size, and the fact that

no electrical power is needed at the remote

location, give ﬁber optic sensors advantages

over conventional electrical sensors in certain

applications. Optical ﬁbers are also used in

hydrophones for seismic or SONAR applications.

Optical ﬁber sensors for temperature and pres-

sure have been developed for downhole mea-

surement in oil wells. The ﬁber optic sensor is

well suited for this environment because it can

function at temperatures that would be too high

for semiconductor sensors. Research is being

carried out on the use of ﬁber optics as light

pipes. Fiber optics can be used as lighting devi-

ces in ecodesign to bring natural daylight into

deep parts and basements of buildings.

Fill factor Ratio of a photovoltaic cell’s actual

power to its power if both current and voltage

were at their maximums. Key characteristic in

evaluating cell performance.

Fingerjoint Term used for the method of gluing

pieces together in the production of structurally

engineered wood from recycled/reconstituted

wood material.

Fire ecology Conservation management of for-

ests and prairies by using proactive ﬁres to

reduce the accumulation of decaying organic

matter and litter that would fuel uncontrolled

random ﬁres that could destroy entire forests

and prairies. The controlled ﬁres allow forest

ecosystems to retain their natural balance. Many

species of plants and other processes regenerate

after a ﬁre and maintain a healthy ecosystem.

Fire reacts differently to environmental factors

(topography, climate, vegetation type) or to the

present health of the stand (insect invasion,

build-up of fuel load). Controlled ﬁres are

usually conducted by professional foresters and

ecologists.

Fischer–Tropsch fuel Diesel fuel made from

natural gas using a method known as the

Fischer–Tropsch process. This process synthe-

sizes hydrocarbons and other aliphatic com-

pounds. A mixture of hydrogen and carbon

monoxide is reacted with an iron or cobalt cat-

alyst. Fischer–Tropsch fuels are liquid under

ambient conditions, have a high cetane number,

and have effectively no sulfur content. They can

be used in existing diesel engines.

Fixed receiver moving reﬂector Type of con-

centrating solar collector. See also:

Concentrating

solar collector

Fixed reﬂector moving receiver Type of con-

centrating solar collector. See also:

Concentrating

solar collector

Flamespread Wood performance under ﬁre

conditions.

Flashpoint Lowest temperature under speciﬁc

conditions at which a substance will begin to burn.

Flash steam geothermal power One of three

main geothermal power technologies: binary

cycle, dry steam, and ﬂash steam. When hot

water (>360 °F; >182 °C) is pumped to a gen-

erator, it is released from the pressure of the

deep geothermal reservoir. The drop in pressure

results in vaporization to steam, which spins a

turbine to generate electricity. Small amounts of

carbon dioxide, nitric oxide, and sulfur are

emitted. Hot water not ﬂashed into steam is

returned to the geothermal reservoir through

injection wells (see Figure 22b). See also:

Binary

cycle geothermal power; Dry steam geothermal

power; Geothermal power technology

Flat-plate solar photovoltaic module An

arrangement of photovoltaic cells or material

mounted on a rigid ﬂat surface with the cells

exposed to incoming sunlight. See also:

Photo-

voltaic (PV) and associated entries; Appendix 4:

Photovoltaics

Flat-plate solar thermal/heating collector

Large, ﬂat box with or without glass cover and

dark-colored metal plates inside that absorbs and

transfers solar energy to a heat transfer ﬂuid. This

is the most common type of collector used in solar

hot water systems for homes or small buildings.

Flexible fuel vehicle See:

Dual-fuel vehicle

Flocculation Process by which clumps of solids

in water or sewage aggregate through biological

or chemical action so they can be separated

from water or sewage as part of the ecodesign

sewage handling.

Flood plain Any land area that is susceptible to

being inundated by water from any source. It is

usually a strip of relatively ﬂat and normally dry

land beside a stream, river, or lake that is covered

by water during a ﬂood. In ecodesign site planning,

the designer considers the relationship of the ﬂood

plains and the natural drainage ﬂows of the

locality as part of the water management system.

Flue gas Air emitted from a chimney after com-

bustion in a burner. It can include nitrogen oxides,

carbon oxides, water vapor, sulfur oxides, and

particles and many chemical pollutants.

Flue gas desulfurization Equipment, commonly

known as scrubbers, used to remove sulfur

96 Fischer–Tropsch fuel

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oxides from the combustion gases of a boiler

plant before discharging into the atmosphere.