Green Glossary
Active Solar Heating: Heat from the sun is absorbed by collectors and mechanically transferred
by pumps or fans for storage for heating, cooling, or making electricity.
Agenda 21: A comprehensive strategy developed by the United Nations that can be
implemented by national and local governments to minimize the negative impacts that humans
have on the environment.
Biomass: Living and recently dead biological material that can be used as a sustainable fuel.
Blackwater: Water containing human waste from toilets and urinals. Black water contains
pathogens that must be neutralized before the water can be safely reused. Typically, black water,
after neutralization, is used for non-potable uses such as flushing or irrigation.
BREEAM: Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) is
a comprehensive tool for analyzing and improving the environmental performance of buildings
through design and operations. This methodology has been developed by the U.K.-based
Building Research Establishment.
Brownfields: Abandoned, idled, or underused industrial and commercial facilities where
expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination.
Building Envelope: The skin of a building—including the windows, doors, walls, foundation,
basement slabs, ceilings, roof, and insulation—that separates the interior of a building from the
outdoor environment.
Built Environment: Human-built structures such as single-family homes.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2): A colorless, odorless gas that naturally exists in the earth's atmosphere.
The major source of manmade CO2 emissions is from the combustion of fossil fuels. Carbon
dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas and is known to contribute to global warming and climate
change.
Carbon Footprint: The measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in
terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide.
Certified Sustainably Managed: Wood determined to have been harvested from a sustainable
forest that exhibits the same ecological characteristics as a healthy natural forest. A number of
certifying organizations have been established to oversee the harvesting of wood for lumber and
provide guidelines for preservation of forests.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs): A family of chemicals used in refrigeration, air conditioning,
packaging, insulation, or as solvents and aerosol propellants, which drift into the upper
atmosphere and destroy the Earth's protective ozone layer.
Composting: A process whereby organic wastes—food, paper, and yard wastes—decompose
naturally, resulting in a product rich in minerals and ideal for gardening and farming as a soil
conditioner, mulch, resurfacing material, or landfill cover.
Cradle to Cradle: A certification system and philosophy established by architect William
McDonough based on the idea that products and the built environment should be designed in a
closed system so that when they are no longer useful, they provide fuel for new products or
natural cycles, eliminating waste. This framework seeks to create production techniques that are
not just efficient, but essentially waste-free. In cradle-to-cradle production, all material inputs
and outputs are seen either as technical or biological nutrients. Technical nutrients can be
recycled or reused with no loss of quality and biological nutrients can be composted or
consumed.
Cradle to Grave: The process whereby a company takes responsibility for the disposal of goods
it has produced, but not necessarily putting products' constituent components back into service.
Daylighting: The use of natural light to supplement or replace artificial lighting. Strategies
include the proper orientation and placement of windows, use of light wells, light shafts or tubes,
skylights, clerestory windows, light shelves, reflective surfaces, and shading, as well as the use
of interior glazing to allow light into adjacent spaces.
Daylight Harvesting: The process of using digital photo sensors to detect daylight levels and
automatically adjust the output level of electric lighting to create a balance.
Domestic Hardwood: Deciduous trees that grow in the United States. This is the only type of
wood in the U.S. where on a general scale the growth of new trees easily exceeds the removal
rate.
Eco-friendly: Having little or no impact on the native ecosystem.
Ecological Footprint: The area of land and water needed to produce the resources to entirely
sustain a human population and absorb its waste products with prevailing technology.
Embodied Energy: The total of the energy required to produce a service or product. Included
are the product's raw material extraction, transport, manufacturing, assembly, and installation, as
well as capital and other costs of a specific material, in addition to disassembly, deconstruction,
and/or decompostion.
Energy Efficiency: Ratio of energy output of a conversion process or of a system to its energy
input.
Energy Smart: Meeting energy needs cost effectively and with the least impact on the
environment.
Energy Star: The Energy Star program, managed by the Environmental Protection Agency and
the Department of Energy, helps consumers identify energy-efficient products for their homes.
Exterior Grade Plywood: Uses phenol formaldehyde (a volatile organic compound) as an
adhesive rather than the urea formaldehyde used in interior grade plywood and particleboard.
Fly Ash: The ash residue from high temperature combustion processes. Electric motor plants
using western coal produce a non-toxic fly ash that because of its very high calcium content can
be a substitute for Portland cement (the common bonding material in concrete).
Formaldehyde: Colorless, pungent smelling, toxic material used as an adhering component of
glues used in many wood products. It can cause respiratory problems, cancer, and chemical
sensitivity. At concentrations above 0.1 ppm in air, formaldehyde can irritate the eyes and
mucous membranes, resulting in watery eyes. Naturally occurring but when added it is referred
to as urea formaldehyde.
Fossil Fuels: Carbon-rich deposits in the Earth, such as petroleum (oil), coal, or natural gas,
derived from the remains of ancient plants and animals and used for fuel. These are nonrenewable resources with a finite supply. They are pollutive, but are so commonly used due to
their traditionally low costs.
Fuel Cell: A technology that uses an electrochemical process to convert energy into electrical
power. Often powered by natural gas, fuel cell power is cleaner than grid-connected power
sources. In addition, hot water is produced as a by-product that can be used as a thermal
resource.
Geothermal Energy: Heat that comes from the Earth's interior.
Global Warming: An increase in the global mean temperature of the Earth that is a result of
increased emissions of greenhouse gases that are trapped within the Earth's atmosphere. Global
warming is believed to have adverse consequences, such as climate change and a rise in sea
levels. The scientific community is in general agreement that the Earth's surface has warmed by
about 1°F over the past 140 years.
Graywater: Wastewater from sources such as sinks, showers, kitchens, and washers, which after
purification, is used for non-potable uses such as flushing and irrigation. Rainwater from gutters
can be used for this.
Green Building: A building that minimizes its impact on the environment through conservation
of energy, water, and other resources, while contributing to the health of its occupants without
compromising the aesthetic design.
Greenhouse Gases: Any gas that absorbs infrared radiation in the Earth's atmosphere. Carbon
dioxide, methane, and nitrogen oxides are of particular concern due to their length of time they
remain resident in the atmosphere. Primarily, the emissions of coal-fired power plants and
combustion engine automobiles produce carbon dioxide that prevents excess heat from escaping
through the atmosphere, thereby raising the surface temperature of the earth. More than 80
percent of all U.S. greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide emissions from energy-related sources.
Green Power: Electricity generated from renewable energy sources. This includes solar, wind,
biomass, geothermal, and hydroelectric power.
Harvested Rainwater: The rain that falls on a roof and is channeled by gutters to a storage tank
or cistern.
Heat Island Effect: A phenomenon that occurs in developed areas where the replacement of
natural land cover with paving, buildings, roads, parking lots, and other structures result in an
increase in outdoor temperatures. The heat island effect can be mitigated by vegetation, green
roofs, and light colored materials that reflect heat. Urban heat islands can be as much as 10°F
hotter than the surrounding undeveloped areas.
Heat Recovery Systems: Building mechanical systems that capture waste heat from another
system and use it to replace heat that would otherwise come from a primary energy source.
Indigenous Materials: Building materials that are mined, manufactured, or fabricated locally to
reduce transportation cost and increase the viability of the local economy.
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ): The content of interior air that could affect the health and comfort of
building occupants. Good air quality inside a building results from streaming an appropriate
amount of outside air into the building and regulating proper filtration, air distribution, and
removal of indoor pollutants through he use of proper ventilation.
Intelligent Materials: Materials able to adapt to their environment by altering their properties,
such as thermochromic glazing that changes its transparency in response to changing
temperatures.
Kyoto Protocol: In December 1997, a delegation from 160 countries came together on climate
change and adopted an agreement, under which the industrialized nations agreed to reduce their
greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5.2 percent below 1990 emissions levels by 2010.
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design): A voluntary, consensus-based
national rating system for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. Developed by the
USGBC, LEED addresses all building types and emphasizes state-of-the-art strategies for
sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources selection,
and indoor environmental quality. LEED is a practical rating tool for green building design and
construction that provides immediate, measurable results for building owners and occupants.
Low-E (Low-Emissive): Glass that reflect heat, not light, and therefore keeps spaces warmer in
winter and cooler in summer.
Microclimate: Localized climate conditions within an urban area or building.
Non-Renewable Energy Resources: Energy resources that cannot be restored or replenished by
natural processes and therefore are depleted through use. Commonly used non-renewable energy
resources include coal, oil, natural gas, and uranium.
Off the Grid: A system that runs on renewable energy sources independent of a conventional
public utility grid.
Ozone: A form of oxygen found naturally that provides a protective layer shielding the Earth
from ultraviolet radiation's harmful effects on humans and the environment. Ground level ozone
is the primary component of smog, produced near the Earth's surface through complex chemical
reactions of nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and sunlight.
Particulate Matter: Solid material that escapes from combustion processes and can be inhaled,
causing potential health problems.
Passive Design: Building design and placement in home construction that permits the use of
natural thermal processes—convection, absorption, radiation, and conduction—to support
comfort levels.
Passive Cooling: A system whereby a building's structure (or an element of it) permits increased
ventilation and retention of coolness within the building components. The intention is to
minimize or eliminate the need for mechanical means of cooling.
Passive Heating: A system whereby a building's structure (or an element of it) is designed to
allow natural thermal energy flows, such as radiation, conduction, and natural convection
generated by the sun, to provide heat. The home relies solely or primarily on non-mechanical
means of heating.
Passive Ventilation: The use of convective airflows that result from the tendency of warm air to
rise and cool air to sink, while also taking advantage of prevailing winds. Many passive
ventilation systems rely on building occupants to control window and vents as indicated by
conditions inside and outside the building.
Photovoltaic Cells: Devices that use semiconductors to convert sunlight directly into electricity.
Prefabricated: Standardized building sections that are created in a factory to be shipped and
assembled in another location.
Radiant Heating: An efficient heating system that warms cold objects, which then radiate heat
into the surrounding space evenly.
Rainwater Harvesting: The collection, storage, and reuse of rainwater.
Regeneration: Renewal of sites or habitats that have become unfit for human, animal, or plant
habitation, bringing them back into productive use. The term most commonly refers to urban and
industrial land.
R-Value: A measure of the thermal resistance of material, especially insulation.
Reclaim: To use a product again after its initial use. This commonly refers to materials such as
tile, brick, and stone.
Recycling: The reprocessing of materials into new products, which generally prevents the waste
of potentially useful materials, reduces the consumption of raw materials, lowers energy usage,
and decreases greenhouse gas emissions compared to virgin production.
Reuse: To use products, such as glass bottles or shipping crates, repeatedly in the same form.
Renewable Energy: Energy resources, such as wind, solar, hydroelectric, biomass, geothermal,
ocean thermal, and wave power, that replenish themselves within a short period. Although nonpollutive, some displace habitats and require large tracts of land.
(Rapidly) Renewable resource: Organic materials, like bamboo or corn, that have a short
regeneration period to full maturation, usually in stark contrast to the material they are replacing.
Sick Building Syndrome: A phenomenon in which building occupants experience acute health
and/or comfort effects that appear to be linked to time spent in a particular building.
Smart House: A home that consists of programmable electronic controls and sensors that can
regulate heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting, and equipment operation in an energy conserving
and climatically responsible manner.
Sustainability: The practice of meeting the needs of the present without depleting resources or
harming natural cycles for future generations.
USGBC (United States Green Building Council): A non-profit organization committed to
expanding sustainable building practices. The USGBC is composed of more than 12,000
organizations from across the building industry that are working to advance structures that are
environmentally sustainable, profitable, and healthy places to live and work. Members includes
building owners, real estate developers, facility managers, architects, designers, engineers,
general contractors, subcontractors, product and building system manufacturers, government
agencies, and nonprofit organizations.
Ventilated Façade: A special type of curtain wall that consists of two glazed facades separated
by a gap through which ambient air is allowed to flow.
Volatile Organic Compound (VOC): Any organic compound that evaporates at room
temperatures and is hazardous to human health, causing poor indoor air quality. Many VOCs
found in homes, such as paint strippers and wood preservatives, contribute to sick building
syndrome because of their high vapor pressure. VOCs are often used in paint, carpet backing,
plastics, and cosmetics. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found
concentrations of VOCs in indoor air to be, on average, two to five times greater than in outdoor
air. During certain activities, indoor levels of VOCs may reach 1,000 times that of the outside
air.
Wind Power: The conversion of energy from the wind into electricity. Surplus electricity is
often stored in a battery storage system for later use, or the power is passed back to the utility,
making the electric meter turn in reverse.
National Kitchen &
Bath Association
687 Willow Grove Street
Hackettstown, NJ 07840
(800) THE-NKBA