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

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May or may not have storage, but most stand-

alone systems require batteries or some other

form of storage.

Steady state economics 1. In macroeconomics,

a condition of the economy in which output

productivity per worker and capital intensity per

worker do not change over time. This is the

result of the rate of new capital production from

invested savings being exactly equal to the rate

of existing capital depreciation. The steady state

is generally associated with the Nobel Prize-

winning economist Robert Solow, who created

the Solow model in 1956. In an economy with-

out technological advances, the steady state is

where output and capital per worker stay the

same.

2. In ecosystems, refers to production and

consumption that take the surrounding ecosys-

tems into account and try to achieve a state of

equilibrium (see Figure 74).

Steam Water in vapor form; used as the

working ﬂuid in steam turbines and heating

systems.

Steam boiler A type of furnace in which fuel

is burned and the heat is used to produce

steam.

Steam stripping Removal of volatile organic

compounds from contaminated groundwater or

wastewater. Steam is forced through the liquid,

and the higher wastewater temperature results

in the evaporation of volatile contaminants.

Steam stripping is more effective in removing

contaminants than air stripping. See also:

Air

stripping.

Steam turbine Device that converts high-

pressure steam, produced in a boiler, into

mechanical energy that can then be used to

produce electricity by forcing the turbine shaft

to rotate and turn a generator shaft.

Steep-slope roof Also known as a sloped roof.

Roof surface with a slope greater than 2 inches

(5 cm) rise for 12 inches (31 cm) run.

Stephan–Boltzmann law The amount of elec-

tromagnetic radiation emitted by a body is

directly related to its temperature. If the body is

a perfect emitter (black body), the amount of

radiation given off is proportional to the fourth

power of its temperature as measured in Kelvin.

Figure 73 Stack effect—natural driving mechanisms

228 Steady state economics

This natural phenomenon is described by the

Stephan–Boltzmann law. The equation below

describes this law mathematically:

E*=σT

where σ = 5.67  10

–8

–2

–4

and T is the

temperature in Kelvin. According to the Stephan–

Boltzmann equation, a small increase in the

temperature of a radiating body results in a

large amount of additional radiation being emit-

ted. In general, good emitters of radiation are

also good absorbers of radiation at speciﬁc

wavelength bands. This is especially true of gases

and is responsible for the Earth’s greenhouse

effect. Similarly, weak emitters of radiation are

also weak absorbers of radiation at speciﬁc

wavelength bands. See also:

Radiation

Stirling engine Closed-cycle regenerative hot

engine. Operates through an external heat source

and an external heat sink. It is classiﬁed as an

external combustion engine, but heat from solar

and nuclear energy can be used. The working

ﬂuid is permanently contained within the system

compared, with open-cycle engines such as

internal combustion engines and some steam

engines. There is an internal heat exchanger—

regenerator—that improves the engine’s poten-

tial efﬁciency. See also:

Parabolic dish solar

collector

Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic

Pollution To address global concern about

persistent organic pollutants (POPs), 91 countries

including the USA and the European Commu-

nity signed a United Nations treaty in Stock-

holm, Sweden, in May 2001. Under the treaty,

known as the Stockholm Convention, countries

agreed to reduce or eliminate the production,

use, and/or release of 12 key POPs: aldrin, chlor-

dane, dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane (DDT),

dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene,

mirex, toxaphene, polychlorinated biphenyls

Figure 74 (a) Standard economics, (b) steady-state

economics

Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollution 229

(PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (diox-

ins), and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (furans).

The Convention included special provisions to

eliminate PCBs and DDT, and speciﬁes a sci-

entiﬁc review process that could lead to the

addition of other POPs chemicals of global

concern.

Many of the POPs included in the Stockholm

Convention are no longer produced in the USA.

None of the intentionally produced pesticides,

for example, are manufactured or registered for

use in the USA. However, US citizens and

habitats can still be at risk from POPs that have

persisted in the environment, from unintentionally

produced POPs that are released in the USA,

and from POPs that are released elsewhere and

then transported here (by wind or water, for

example). Although most developed nations have

taken strong action to control the 12 POPs, a

great number of developing nations have only

recently begun to restrict their production, use,

and release.

Storage battery Device that can transform

energy from electrical to chemical form and can

be reversed. During discharge, chemical energy

is converted to electrical energy and is con-

sumed in an external circuit or apparatus. The

major battery types sold are lead–acid, lithium-ion,

metal hydride, and nickel–cadmium.

Stratosphere Region of the atmosphere

between the troposphere and mesosphere, the

layer of the atmosphere 10–30 miles (15–50

kilometers) above the Earth. Ozone in the stra-

tosphere ﬁlters out harmful rays from the Sun,

including ultraviolet B, which has been linked

to health and environmental damage. See also:

Mesosphere; Troposphere

Straw bale construction Use of baled straw

from wheat, oats, barley, rye, rice, and others in

walls. The walls are covered by stucco. Straw

bale is traditionally a waste product that farmers

do not till under the soil, but do sell as animal

bedding or landscape supply due to its durable

nature. Hay bales are made from short species

of livestock feed grass that is green/alive, and

are not suitable for this application. The use of

straw bales for constructing walls has been

recently revived as a low-cost alternative for

building highly insulating walls. The technique

was practiced in the plains states of the USA in

the latter 1800s and early 1900s. Many of the

early structures are still standing and being

used. The technique has been applied to homes,

farm buildings, schools, commercial buildings,

churches, community centers, government build-

ings, airplane hangars, and well houses. Straw is

also used as a building material in sheet materials

such as sheathing and wall panels.

Two basic styles of straw bale construction

have been used: post-and-beam construction

with straw bale inﬁll; and structural straw bale

construction or “Nebraska” style, in which the

weight of the roof is supported by the bales.

Strawboard Construction material used for

partitions, manufactured from rice or wheat straw.

String Number of photovoltaic modules or

panels interconnected electrically in series to

produce the operating voltage required by the load.

Strip cutting Conservation practice of harvest-

ing trees in strips narrow enough to minimize

edge effects and to allow natural regeneration of

a forest.

Strip farming Conservation practice of planting

different types of crops in alternative strips along

land contours. When one crop is harvested, the

other crop remains to prevent erosion or exces-

sive runoff. The practice dates back to manorial

farming in the 9th century in Europe.

Structural diversity One of the three types of

diversity in an ecosystem. Plants and animals

230 Storage battery

occupy space efﬁciently, which allows a vari-

ety of size, shape, and distribution of species,

habitats, and communities across the land-

scape. See also:

Functional diversity; Species

diversity

Structural wall panels Fabricated panels that

use molded expanded polystyrene (MEPS),

extruded polystyrene (XEPS), and urethane as

foam cores. The outer facings can be made of

plywood, waferboard, oriented strand board,

sheetrock, and metal. Structural panels serve as

an alternative to the standard stud/insulation/

sheathing wall system. XEPS and urethane foam

use chloroﬂuorocarbons (CFCs) or hydrochloro-

ﬂuorocarbons (HCFCs), which contain green-

house gases, as blowing agents. MEPS does not

use any ozone-depleting chemicals.

Styrene Colorless, toxic liquid with a strong

aroma. Insoluble in water, soluble in alcohol and

ether; can become explosive. Used in polymers

and copolymers, polystyrene plastics, and rub-

bers. It may cause health problems if found in

amounts greater than the health standard set by

USEPA. See also:

Toxic chemicals

Subsidence Drop of the land surface resulting

from groundwater being pumped. Cracks and

ﬁssures can appear in the land. Subsidence is

virtually an irreversible process.

Subslab depressurization system An active

system uses a fan-powered vent drawing air

from beneath the slab; a passive system uses a

vent pipe routed through the conditioned space

of the building and connecting the subslab area

with the outdoor air.

Subsoiling Breaking up compacted soils,

without inverting them, using a plow or blade.

Substrate Physical material upon which a

photovoltaic cell is applied.

Succession Changes in an ecosystem that

eventually result in the establishment of a stable

community.

SUDS See:

Sustainable urban drainage system

SULEV See: Super-ultra-low-emission vehicle

Sulfur-based cement Also known as sulfur-

solidiﬁed concrete. A thermoplastic composite

of mineral aggregates bound together with che-

mically modiﬁ ed sulfur. Research results indi-

cate that it is more durable than Portland cement,

and is a good solidifying agent for waste manage-

ment practices such as solidiﬁcation/stabilization

of hazardous waste; barrier systems for hazar-

dous waste landﬁlls; and wastewater treatment

plants.

Sulfur dioxide (SO

) Gas that causes acid rain.

Air pollutant. When burned, fossil fuels such as

coal release SO

into the atmosphere. Belongs

to the family of sulfur oxide gases (SO

). The gas

is produced by burning coal, mostly in power

plants. Other industrial processes, such as paper

production and metal smelting, also produce

. Closely related to sulfuric acid (H

is a strong acid.

Sulfur is prevalent in all raw materials,

including crude oil, coal, and ores that contain

common metals such as aluminum, copper,

zinc, lead, and iron. SO

gases are formed when

fuels containing sulfur, such as coal and oil, are

burned, and when gasoline is extracted from

oil, or metals are extracted from ore. SO

dis-

solves in water vapor to form acid, and interacts

with other gases and particles in the air to form

sulfates and other products that can be harmful

to people and their environment. These gases

dissolve easily in water. SO

contributes to

respiratory illness, and aggravates existing heart

and lung diseases. SO

is a major contributor to

the production of acid rain, which damages

trees, crops, and buildings, and makes soils,

Sulfur dioxide (SO

) 231

lakes, and streams acidic. It contributes to the

formation of atmospheric particles that cause

visibility impairment, most noticeably in national

parks. SO

and the pollutants formed from it,

such as sulfate particles, can be transported over

long distances and deposited far from the point

of origin. This means that problems with SO

are not conﬁned to areas where it is emitted.

See also: Emissions standards,

designations

Super window Popular term for a highly insu-

lating window with a heat loss so low that it

performs better than an insulated wall in winter,

as the sunlight it admits is greater than its heat

loss over a 24-hour period.

Superconducting magnetic energy storage

(SMES) Technology using the superconducting

characteristics of low-temperature materials to

produce intense magnetic ﬁelds to store energy.

SMES has been proposed as a storage option to

support large-scale use of photovoltaics and

wind as a means to smooth out ﬂuctuations in

power generation. Researchers believe it will

take many years before this technology can be

implemented practically.

Superfund US government’s program to con-

tain, clean up, or remedy the country’s hazar-

dous waste sites. The fund is ﬁnanced by fees

paid by toxic waste generators and by cost

recovery from cleanup projects. See also:

Com-

prehensive Environmental Response Compensation

and Liability Act

Superheat Additional heat contained in a

vapor at a temperature higher than the satura-

tion (boiling) temperature corresponding to the

pressure of the vapor.

Superstrate The covering on the sunny side of

a photovoltaic (PV) module, providing protection

for the PV materials from impact and environ-

mental degradation while allowing maximum

transmission of the appropriate wavelengths of

the solar spectrum.

Surface area-to-volume ratio Indicator of a

building’s energy efﬁciency. Surface area can

be useful if it increases the potential for passive

solar heating, natural ventilation, or daylighting

of buildings.

Surface impoundment Treatment, storage, or

disposal of liquid hazardous wastes in ponds.

Surface runoff Water from rain, ﬂooding, or irri-

gation that exceeds the ability of the adjoining

soil to absorb it. Surface runoff carries pollutants

from many sources into rivers, streams, and lakes.

Surface-structured solar cell New generation

of solar cell. Cell has a pyramid structure so that

incoming light hits the surface several times.

New materials include gallium arsenide (GaAs),

cadmium telluride (CdTe), or copper indium

selenide (CuInSe

Surface-structured solar cell 233

Surface water All bodies of water on the sur-

face and open to the atmosphere, such as rivers,

lakes, reservoirs, ponds, seas, and estuaries.

Surface water management system System

designed to prevent surface water from ﬂowing

into waste-ﬁlled areas.

Sustainable 1. Ability to keep up or support.

2. An ecosystem condition in which biodi-

versity, renewability, and resource productivity

are maintained over time.

Sustainable design See:

Ecodesign

Sustainable development See: Sustainability

Sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS)

System designed to reduce the potential impact

of new and existing developments with respect

to surface water drainage discharges. SUDS are

designed to be easy to manage, require little

energy input, are resilient, and seek to minimize

harmful impacts of drainage on the environ-

ment. Examples are reed beds and other wet-

land habitats that collect, store, and ﬁlter dirty

water, along with providing a habitat for wild-

life. The goal of SUDS is to replicate natural

systems that have low environmental impact to

drain away surface water runoff through collec-

tion, storage, and cleaning before allowing it to

be released slowly back into the environment,

such as into water courses. Conventional drai-

nage systems often result in ﬂooding, pollution

of the environment—with resultant harm to

wildlife—and contamination of groundwater

sources used to provide drinking water. Origin-

ally the term described the UK approach to

sustainable urban drainage systems. Other coun-

tries have similar approaches in place, using

different terminology such as best management

practice or low-impact development.

SUDS may use the following techniques:

source control, permeable paving, storm water

detention, storm water inﬁltration, or evapo-

transpiration. For example, sewer ﬂooding hap-

pens when ﬂows entering a sewer exceed its

capacity, and it overﬂows. SUDS aim to mini-

mize or eliminate discharges from the site, thus

reducing the impact. The premise is that if all

development sites incorporated SUDS, urban

sewer ﬂooding would be less of a problem. Unlike

traditional urban stormwater drainage systems,

SUDS can also help to protect and enhance

groundwater quality.

Sustainable yield concept Ecodesign strategy for

the ecomimetic designer to ensure all materials

used in a structure are renewable or reusable,

and all discharges and emissions are recycled or

reused within the built environment itself or

within the larger overall urban system. It is the

concept of self-sustainability and reintegration.

Sustainability The basic principles and concepts

are balancing a growing economy, protection

for the environment, and social responsibility.

Common use of the term in the context of

modern environmentalism began with the pub-

lication of the World Commission on Environ-

ment and Development report Our Common

Future, in 1987. Also known as the Brundtland

Report, this document characterized sustainable

development as “development that meets the

needs of the present without compromising the

ability of future generations to meet their own

needs.” This concept of sustainability encom-

passes ideas and values that encourage public

and private organizations to become better

stewards of the environment and promote posi-

tive economic growth and social objectives.

The principles of sustainability can stimulate

technological innovation, advance competitive-

ness, and improve our quality of life. See also:

Brundtland Report

SW-846 The ofﬁcial compendium of USEPA’s

Ofﬁce of Solid Waste: Test Methods for

234 Surface water

Evaluating Solid Waste, Physical/Chemical Meth-

ods. It provides analytical and sampling meth-

ods that have been evaluated and approved for

use in complying with the Resource Conservation

and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulations. SW-846

functions primarily as a guidance document

setting forth acceptable, although not required,

methods for the regulated and regulatory

communities to use in responding to RCRA-

related sampling and analysis requirements.

SW-846 was ﬁrst issued by USEPA in 1980.

There have been a number of changes since

then as new information and data have been

developed.

Swale Elongated trench used to collect and

direct the ﬂow of surface water runoff.

Swamp cooler Popular name for evaporative

cooling devices. See also:

Solar cooling

Switch grass Energy crop that is cheap to

grow and provides a high-yield crop that can

make ethanol at low cost. It has fewer nutrient

runoff and erosion problems than corn as a

component of ethanol.

Symbiosis Relationship of members of two

species. See also:

Amensalism; Commensalism;

Mutualism; Parasitism

Synfuel Gas or liquid hydrocarbon fuel made

from coal or shale and sometimes waste plastic.

Fuel made from coal creates many environ-

mental problems, from mine damage to emis-

sions of sulfur oxides, hydrocarbons, and heavy

metals. Fuel made from shale requires a large

quantity of water during processing, and a large

volume of solid waste is produced.

Syngas See:

Synthesis gas

Synthesis gas (Syngas) Produced by the

conversion of solid biomass into gaseous form.

Syngas consists primarily of carbon monoxide,

carbon dioxide, and hydrogen, and has less

than half the energy density of natural gas. It is

combustible and is often used as a fuel source

or an intermediate for the production of other

chemicals. The gas can run through combined-

cycle gas turbines or another power-conversion

technology such as a coal power plant. Syngas

can also be burned directly in internal combus-

tion engines, used to produce methanol and

hydrogen, or converted via the Fischer–Tropsch

process into synthetic fuel. See also:

Biomass

electricity; Pyrolysis

System boundary Natural extent of the eco-

system or boundary conditions within which the

ecodesigned system is located. This is not a

boundary of separation but a boundary of iden-

tity, recognizing the importance of ecotones

and the boundaries between discrete ecological

communities in terms of nutrient transfer zones,

sediments, energy, and ecological processes.

The designed human-made boundary should be

integrated with the composite ecosystem.

Systemic integration Ecodesign strategy to

reduce the use of ecosystem and biospheric

services and impacts on the shared global

environment. Designing for systemic integration

includes assimilation of anthropogenic emis-

sions and waste without contamination, biode-

gradation of emissions over short periods, and

reducing inputs and outputs in general to reduce

or eliminate burdening the natural environment

to absorb the human-made wastes.

Systemic integration 235

Taiga Northernmost edge of boreal forest;

includes species-poor woodland and peat deposits,

intergrading with the artic tundra.

Tailings Residue of raw material or waste

separated out during the processing of crops or

mineral ores.

Take back laws Also called producer respon-

sibility laws. Require companies that make or

import items to be involved in the “end-of-life”

phase of their products’ life cycles. In almost all

cases there is a requirement to meet minimal

recycling or reuse rates. Approximately 28–30

countries have such laws, covering a wide

array of products including appliances, compu-

ters, telecommunications equipment and, in

some cases, cars. The European Union has

adopted Waste Electrical and Electronic Equip-

ment (WEEE) and Restriction of Hazardous Sub-

stances directives. By the end of 2005, 20 of the

25 members of the EU enacted the WEEE

directive into their national laws. They are:

Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic,

Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,

Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the

Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slove-

nia, Spain, and Sweden. The EU reached an

agreement in 2000 on a law to have automobile

makers bear the cost of recycling scrap cars.

Manufacturers must cover most of the cost of

taking back all cars sold after January 1, 2001,

when they reach the end of their lives and are

scrapped. From 2007, they have had to take

back without charge any scrap car, regardless of

when it was built, and 85% of the car weight

must be reused or recycled.

Tackiﬁer Water-based agent used to bind soil

particles together to provide erosion protection.

Tandem solar cell Also known as a stacked

solar cell. New generation of solar cell. A single-

crystal, monolithic, tandem photovoltaic solar cell

includes i) an indium phosphide (InP) substrate

with upper and lower surfaces; ii) a ﬁrst photo-

active subcell on the upper surface of the InP

substrate; and iii) a second photoactive subcell on

the ﬁrst subcell. The ﬁrst photoactive subcell is

gallium indium arsenide phosphide (GaInAsP) of

deﬁned composition; the second is InP. The two

subcells are lattice matched. The solar cell can

be provided as a two-terminal or a three-terminal

device. The different semiconductor materials, with

different spectral ranges, are arranged on top of one

another. This enables a wide spectrum of radiation

and different materials to be used. The tandem

cell can achieve higher total conversion efﬁciency

by capturing a larger portion of the solar spectrum.

In the typical multijunction cell, individual cells

with different bandgaps are stacked on top of

one another. The individual cells are stacked in

such a way that sunlight falls ﬁrst on the material

having the largest bandgap. Photons not absor-

bed in the ﬁrst cell are transmitted to the second

cell, which then absorbs the higher-energy portion

of the remaining solar radiation while remaining

transparent to the lower-energy photons. See

also:

Multijunction; Photovoltaic cell; Photovoltaic

device; Appendix 4: Photovoltaics

Tankless water heater A demand water heater

that heats water just before it is distributed for

end use.

Task lighting Light that is focused on, and

used for, a predetermined activity.

TCE See:

Trichloroethylene

TDS See: Total dissolved solids

Temperature inversion Weather conditions that

are often associated with smog, when air does

not rise because it is trapped near the ground by

a layer of warmer air above it. Pollutants, espe-

cially smog and smog-forming chemicals, includ-

ing volatile organic compounds, are trapped

close to the ground.

Tennessee Valley Authority A US federal agency

established in 1933 to develop the Tennessee

river valley region of the southeastern USA. It is

now the nation’s largest power producer.

Tertiary wastewater treatment Following pri-

mary and secondary wastewater treatment pro-

cesses. This process includes ﬂocculation basins,

clariﬁers, ﬁlters, and chlorine basins, or ozone

or ultraviolet radiation process. It is used on

substances that were not removed during the

ﬁrst two treatment processes. See also:

Primary

wastewater treatment; Secondary wastewater

treatment

Tetrachloroethylene (or tetrachloroethene) See:

Perchloroethylene

Tetraethyl lead An octane enhancer in fuels.

Determined to be a health hazard, lead has

been prohibited in highway vehicle gasoline

since 1996.

Thermal balance analysis Sum of simulta-

neously occurring heat gains and heat losses to

determine whether there is an overall loss or gain.

Thermal balance calculations can be done for

rooms, zones, orientations, or entire buildings.

Thermal chimney Also known as a solar chim-

ney. Method of improving natural ventilation of

buildings by using convection of air heated by

passive solar energy. See also:

Passive solar

cooling

Thermal conductance Measure of a material’s

ability to conduct heat; a function of the mate-

rial’s thermal conductivity (the reciprocal of

thermal resistivity) and thickness given a tem-

perature difference between both sides of the

material. Used primarily in Fourier’s law for

heat conduction:

Thermal conductivity = heat ﬂow rate 

distance / (area  temperature difference)

k ¼



ðAΔTÞ

Q = quantity of heat transmitted in time, t,

through a thickness, L, toward a surface area, A,

due to a temperature difference, ΔT, all under

steady-state conditions and when heat transfer

is dependent only on the temperature gradient.

Alternatively, it can be thought of as a ﬂux of

heat (energy per unit area per unit time) divided

by a temperature gradient (temperature difference

per unit length):

k ¼

ðAtÞ



ΔT

In ecodesign, the use of thermal mass in a

building’s structure achieves decreased reliance

on nonrenewable fossil fuels for heat and cool-

ing through thermal conductance. Heat is con-

ducted from the warmer surface of the mass to

the cooler interior of the mass, effectively “stor-

ing” heat in the mass. Conversely, heat from the

warmer interior of the mass is conducted to the

surface of the mass as the mass cools.

Thermal conductance 237