HPSE Glossary
This section of the Exchange website offers a comprehensive glossary of the terms you might come across in the process of learning about High Performance Schools. Use the links below to jump around.
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A and E community: This stands for "Architects and Engineers" and describes the designing side of getting a building put up. Contrast with contractors and builders.
AHU (Air Handling Unit): A generic term for appliances which move, heat, cool, or filter air.
Asbestos:A fire-retardant which has been proven to cause health issues including lung disease and mesothelioma.
Best Practice: The agreed-upon industry standard for doing something. "The best practice for installing those floor tiles is to first strip away..."
Building Flushout: The construction process creates suspended particles that come from running saws, sanders, and other heavy tools. These suspended particles, coupled with the off-gassing of newly installed products, create an unhealthy environment. The building flush out is an essential step in creating a healthy school by cycling and replacing all of the air in the building a set number of times. NE CHPS recommends either a 10 day continuous flush, or space-by-space, requiring 3500 cubic feet of replacement air per square foot.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs): A class of chemical compounds containing chlorine, fluorine, and carbon that were commonly used as refrigerants and that damage the earth's ozone layer.
CHPS (Collaborative for High Performance Schools): An organization, started in California, which promotes the building of energy efficient, environmentally friendly schools. Alternately, this can refer to the set of building criteria which are used in the construction of these schools. The most recent copy of this document can be found here
Commissioning: The process of verifying that the building's systems perform as designed and according to project requirements and construction documents, including assurances that the specified systems are installed properly and adjusted correctly.
Composite Wood: Particleboard, medium density fiberboard, plywood, wheatboard, strawboard, panel substrates, and door cores.
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Energy Star: A program developed jointly by the United States Department of Energy and the United States Environmental Protection Agency that labels products to designate high levels of energy efficiency
ERU (Energy Recovery Units): These devices are part of the air handling systems in many buildings. They remove heat from exhausted air and use it to pre-warm incoming air to reduce the heating demand placed on the HVAC system. This technology allows a building to use less energy heating their air, but most importantly allows fresh air to be circulated.
Forest Stewardship Council: A not-for profit, international membership-based organization that certifies that forestry practices, operation, and successive stages of lumber processing comply with responsible forest management
Halons: A class of organic chemical compounds that contain carbon, fluorine and bromine and may contain chlorine and are destructive to the earth's ozone layer
Heat island effect: Local air and surface temperatures that are higher than nearby natural areas as a result of heat absorbing surfaces, typical around a city or large building.
HVAC: Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (sometimes Refrigeration is included). This refers to the entire set of systems in a building which deal with air temperature and movement. These account for much of the energy use of a building, and can be significant sources of energy savings.
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Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED): A rating system developed by the U. S. Green Building Council to encourage environmental integrity, energy efficiency, and sustainable building practices in buildings.
MTC (Massachusetts Technology Collaborative): The MTC is a state-run organization which encourages energy efficiency through the application of technology. They offer various incentives and rebates for renewable energy purchases, about which more information can be found at their website.
Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV): A number ranging from one to sixteen that indicates the efficiency at which an air filter can remove particles, where one is the least efficient and sixteen is the most efficient at removing particles.
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On-site renewable energy: Renewable energy systems located on the building or building site that produce electricity or hot water for use in the building. This includes solar photovoltaic systems, solar hot water systems, wind energy systems, and fuel cell systems.
Pre-consumer recycled content: Materials used to make the product were recyclables from within the manufacturing process and never reached consumers.
Post-consumer recycled content: Materials used to make a product were already used by a consumer and recycled.
Renewable Energy Credit (REC): A certificate representing one megawatt hour of renewable energy that is physically metered and verified from the generator or the renewable energy project.
RFP (Request for Proposal): A public request for bids which defines what you want build, how, and by when. Contractors then reply with estimates.
Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC): A measure of how well a window blocks heat from sunlight. The SHGC is the fraction of the heat from the sun that enters through a window. It is expressed as a number between 0 and 1. The lower a window's SHGC, the less solar heat it transmits.
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Sustainability: Sustainability addresses the concerns of environmental degradation, economic development, social justice, and the longevity of resources for the future. For schools this means minimizing all negative impacts of the building and ensuring that over its lifetime, it is as positive a structure as can be built.
U. S. Green Building Council (USGBC): A membership organization dedicated to shaping the future of sustainable building design through the development of LEED rating system for building performance.
Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC): An energy efficiency foundation that serves Vermont.
Volatile organic compound (VOC): A class of chemicals that are emitted as gases from certain solids and liquids and that have short- and long-term adverse health effects.
Variable Speed Drive: A class of motors which allow for a more efficiently tuned device. By allowing their power to be run along a gradient of speeds, they can be adjusted to minimize energy use while still performing the appropriate function. They are often found in larger appliances like air conditioners and furnaces.
Information compiled from the NE CHPS protocol, Connecticut Compliance Manual for High Performance Buildings, and NEEP.