| Home Improvement Glossary |
- A
- aerator: Round screw-on tip on the end of
a faucet spout that mixes air into flowing
water, and controls flow to reduce
splashing. It can reduce the flow to 2.5 gpm.
- attic fan: Pushes hot air and humidity out
of a house's attic, while pulling air in
through open windows and doors.
- C
- caulk: A material used to seal air and
water leaks around windows, doors and
other similar applications.
- ceiling fan: A ceiling fan is a device
suspended from the ceiling of a room that
circulates air in order to produce a cooling
effect.
- cloths dryer: An appliance that dries wet
clothes after they've been washed.
- compact fluorescent light bulbs: An
energy efficient light bulb. (incandescent
light bulbs will soon be phased out of use in
the next few years.)
- D
- deciduous: A tree that sheds its leaves at
the end of its growing season.
- E
- exhaust: To remove air out of a room or
an enclosure.
- F
- foam insulation: It is used in small
applications to fill cracks in walls, open
spaces around ductwork, pipes, windows
and doors. In large applications it is used to
insulate walls, crawl spaces and the under
sides of roofs.
- G
- geothermal heat pump: A geothermal
heat pump is a heat pump that uses the
Earth as either a heat source, when
operating in heating mode, or a heat sink,
when operating in cooling mode. It is used
to heat or cool a house.
- gpm: gallons per minute
- I
- insulation: A material that slows or stops
the movement of heat through a wall,
ceiling or floor. Two of the most common
types are fiber glass and spray foam.
types of insulation:
- batts and blankets
- rigid board
- loose fill
- spray foam
- insulation blanket: An insulating cover
for a water heater that helps to reduce heat
lose.
- M
- manufacturer's warrant: An assurance
by a company or others that certain facts or
conditions are true. The party accepting the
warranty is permitted to rely on that
assurance and seek some type of remedy if
it is not true.
- O
- operational specifications: Information
on an appliance or product provided by the
manufacturer. It may contain instructions on
how to use the product and warranty
information.
- P
- passive solar: Using sunlight for energy
without active mechanical systems. Convert
sunlight into usable heat (water, air, thermal
mass), cause air-movement for ventilating,
or store heat for future use, without the
assistance of other energy sources.
- portable fan: Box fans, oscillating fans,
table or floor fans that can be moved from
one place or room to another.
- programmable thermostat: An
adjustable thermostat that can be set to
automatically change the temperature at
different times of the day.
- R
- renewable energy: Any energy source
that is naturally occurring and that can be
replenished at the same rate as it is used.
- S
- solar power: Energy from the sun that is
converted into thermal or electrical energy.
- standby power: The electric power
consumed by electronic appliances while
they are switched off or in a standby mode.
- T
- tankless water heater: A water heater
that doesn't have a tank and produces hot
water on demand.
- tubular skylight: A highly reflective tube
that allows sunlight to come into a room
directly from the rooftop.
- W
- water heater: An appliance that heats
water.
- weather stripping: A material used
around windows and doors to keep
unwanted air and water from getting into a
house.
types of weather stripping:
- vinyl
- felt
- foam
- magnetic
- rubber
- door sweep
- threshold
- whole house fan: A type of window
exhaust fan that pulls hot air out and cool
air in through open windows and doors.
Best used when the outside air feels cool.
