Ice storage air conditioning is a form of thermal energy storage in which cooling capacity is stored by freezing water and recovered later by melting the ice. In building applications, the storage can be charged when cooling demand or electricity prices are lower and discharged during periods of higher cooling demand,…

Building insulation materials are the building materials that form the thermal envelope of a building or otherwise reduce heat transfer. Insulation may be categorized by its composition (natural or synthetic materials), form (batts, blankets, loose-fill, spray foam, and panels), structural contribution (insulating…

Radiant heating and cooling is a category of HVAC technologies that exchange heat by both convection and radiation with the environments they are designed to heat or cool. There are many subcategories of radiant heating and cooling, including: "radiant ceiling panels", "embedded surface systems", "thermally active…

A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers to display information. Liquid crystals do not emit light directly but instead use a backlight or reflector to produce images in…

AE Solar is a German tier 1 solar panels manufacturer founded in Königsbrunn, Germany in 2003, by 3 brothers; Alexander, Victor and Waldemar Maier. The company is headquartered in Königsbrunn and has a presence in more than 95 countries, covering Africa, Asia-Pacific, Asia, Europe, Middle East, North America and South…

The Big Six were Great Britain's largest retail suppliers of gas and electricity, who dominated the market following liberalisation in the late 1990s. By 2002, six companies – British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON, RWE npower, Scottish Power and SSE – had emerged from the 15 former incumbent monopoly suppliers (the 14…

A photovoltaic system, also called a PV system or solar power system, is an electric power system designed to supply usable solar power by means of photovoltaics. It consists of an arrangement of several components, including solar panels to absorb and convert sunlight into electricity, a solar inverter to convert the…

A solar inverter or photovoltaic (PV) inverter is a type of power inverter which converts the variable direct current (DC) output of a photovoltaic solar panel into a utility frequency alternating current (AC) that can be fed into a commercial electrical grid or used by a local, off-grid electrical network. It is a…

A balcony solar power system (also called a plug-in solar panel, mini solar system, Plug-in PV, PIPV, or balcony power station) is a small photovoltaic system designed to generate electricity for direct use in a home or apartment. Unlike conventional rooftop solar installations, balcony solar systems connect to the…

Electricity pricing (also referred to as electricity tariffs or the price of electricity) can vary widely by country or by locality within a country. Electricity prices are dependent on many factors, such as the price of power generation, government taxes or subsidies, CO2 taxes, local weather patterns, transmission…