Ever wanted to know your megawatts from your milliamps? This easy guide tells you what the tough words mean in everyday language.
AMP
The unit that measures the rate of flow of an electrical current.
Abatement
A reduction in the amount or intensity of greenhouse gas emissions as a result of actions taken by a company or individual, such as yourself.
Alternating Current (AC)
Electricity that changes direction periodically. The power point in your house work on AC power. The period of AC power is measured in Cycles per Second, or Hertz.
Biomass or biofuel or bioenergy
Biomass, also known as biofuels or bioenergy, is obtained from organic matter either directly from plants or indirectly from industrial, commercial, domestic or agricultural products. The use of biomass is classed as a 'carbon neutral' process because the carbon dioxide released during the generation of energy from biomass is balanced by the carbon dioxide absorbed by plants during their growth.
Black energy
Energy generated from burning coal and other fossil fuels.
Carbon Capture
Carbon capture is a technological solution for capturing carbon dioxide as it is released into the atmosphere from fossil fuels either before or after combustion.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
A greenhouse gas that is produced as a by-product of oil and gas production, burning fossil fuels and biomass, as well as from all animals, plants, and a number of other natural sources. Carbon dioxide is the principal greenhouse gas that affects the earth’s temperature.
Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (CO2-e)
To account for the differences in the warming effect of various greenhouse gases, emitters often express their emissions of various gases in CO2 equivalent (CO2-e) terms. This represents the amount of CO2 that would have the same relative warming effect as the basket of greenhouse gases actually emitted.
Carbon Footprint
A measure of the amount of carbon dioxide or CO2 emitted through the combustion of fossil fuels. Can be measured on a personal or national level, or according to a specific activity, such as a flight.
Carbon Storage
Sometimes called ‘carbon sequestration’, carbon storage is the long-term storage of carbon or CO2 in forests, soil, ocean, or underground in depleted oil and gas reservoirs, coal seams, and saline aquifers. Carbon Capture and Storage can be referred to as CCS.
Carbon offset
A carbon offset is a monetary investment in a project or activity elsewhere that abates greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions or sequesters carbon from the atmosphere that is used to compensate for GHG emissions from your own activities. Offsets can be bought by a business or individual in the voluntary market (or within a trading scheme). A carbon offset usually represents one tonne of CO2-e.
Circuit
A joined-up series of electrical conductors, wires and components that allow an electrical current to flow.
Circuit breaker
A device that protects a circuit from power surges by stopping the power flowing.
Climate Change
The variation in the Earth’s global climate over time. Man-made climate change is a variation directly attributable to human behaviour.
Cogeneration
Also know as Combined Heat and Power, is where one fuel is used to generate both useable heat and power. It is one of the most common ways of recycling energy.
Combined Cooling Heat and Power (CCHP)
A system in which fuel is used to simultaneously produce electrical (or mechanical) power plus recover useful thermal energy for use in cooling & heating.
Compact fluorescent lamps (CFL)
Also known as energy efficient light globes, these are an alternative to regular (incandescent) light globes, which use around 20% less energy
Direct Current (DC)
An electrical current which flows only in one direction in a circuit. Batteries and fuel cells produce direct current.
Distributors
Companies responsible for the poles and wires carrying electricity to homes and businesses.
Electric Current
The rate at which electricity flows through an electrical conductor, usually measured in Amps.
Electrical Cell
A device which produces or stores electricity. A battery.
Electricity Meter
A device that measures the amount of electricity used.
Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)
Through an ETS an organisation is allocated an allowance for the amount of greenhouse gases it can produce. These systems allow those who reduce emissions beyond their obligations to sell their excess emission capacity to others within the ETS who are unable to meet their own emission reduction targets.
Fossil Fuel
An energy source formed in the Earths crust from decayed organic material. The common fossil fuels are oil, coal, and natural gas.
Fuse
A safety device, which protects electrical appliances by preventing too much electricity flowing into them. The fuse is a thin wire inside a protective case. If the flow of electricity becomes too powerful, the wire melts and stops the current flowing.
Generation
This covers the production of electricity at power stations. At present the main fuels used in Australia are gas, coal and hydro, although there is now a growing use of renewable forms of energy, such as solar and wind power.
Generator
A machine that converts mechanical energy into electricity. Generator can also refer to a company that creates energy, like Origin.
Geosequestration
Also known as carbon capture and storage (CCS), geosequestration is the process of capture, transport, injection and storage of CO2 in underground geological formations for the primary purpose of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.
Giga Watt (GW)
A thousand MegaWatts.
Global warming
The gradual increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s surface and atmosphere. The majority of scientists agree that the current warming we are experiencing is caused by the release of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels and other industrial processes.
Green energy
Also known as renewable energy. Energy generated from sources such as hydro (water), solar (sun), biomass (landfill) or wind.
Greenhouse effect
The way gases in the earth’s atmosphere trap heat. The build up of these gases, especially carbon dioxide, are thought to cause global warming.
Greenhouse gas
Gases in an atmosphere that absorb and emit radiation (i.e. the sun’s heat and energy). The main greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone.
High Voltage (HV)
11,000 Volts or above.
Hydroelectricity
The production of electricity, which uses the force of falling water to turn the blades of the turbine. Usually a river has been dammed in order to create enough force to turn the blades.
Incandescent light globes
These globes are the traditional pear-shaped light globe shape, and use 20% more energy than compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs).
Insulator
A material that reduces or stops the flow of electricity.
Kilowatt Hour (KW-h)
A standard unit of electrical power equal to 1,000 watts. Kilowatts are the units used to measure Maximum Demand. Kilowatt hour is a unit of energy consumed.
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
When natural gas is cooled to around -160 degrees Celsius at atmospheric pressure, it condenses to a liquid called LNG.
Low Voltage (LV)
Normally 240 or 415 Volts.
Mains Electricity
Electricity supplied to our homes from the National Grid.
Mandatory Renewable Energy Target
In 2001 the Australian Government introduced a Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) scheme designed to increase the uptake of renewable energy in Australia's electricity supply. In 2007 the Government committed to ensuring that 20 per cent of Australia's electricity supply comes from renewable energy sources by 2020.
Mega Watt (MW)
A measure of power: none million watts.
Mega Watt hour (MW-h)
One thousand kilowatt hours. A 1 MW power-generating unit running for 1 hour produces 1 MWh of electrical energy.
Meter
A meter is a device that measures the amount of electrical energy consumed by a residence, business, or an electrically-powered device. Electric meters are typically calibrated in billing units, the most common one being the kilowatt hour. Periodic readings of electric meters establishes billing cycles and energy used during a cycle.
Milliamp
The milliamp hour is the standard unit of storage capacity for a cell or battery. The milliamp hour rating of a cell tells how many constant milliamps of current can be supplied by the pack for one hour. This rating can be used to find the duration a battery pack can provide, given a certain draw.
Peak demand
Point of maximum electricity demand on the national system. For example, peak demand can occur during summer on very hot days, when people get home from work in the evening and then turn on their air conditioners.
Permit
A permit is a legal permission authorising the holder to emit a defined quantity of greenhouse gases. In an emissions trading scheme a permit is usually equivalent to one tonne of CO2-e. If a company emits less greenhouse gases than authorised they can sell their permits within the trading scheme.
Renewable energy
Also known as green energy. Renewable energy is sustainable energy that comes from the natural environment. Certain sources of energy are ‘renewable’ as they are maintained or replaced by nature. Renewable energy is obtained from sources that are essentially inexhaustible, unlike fossil fuels, of which there is a finite supply and cannot be replenished. Renewable sources of energy include solar, wind, water, biomass, wood, waste, geothermal, wind, photovoltaic, and solar thermal energy. Non-renewable energy sources include coal, oil and natural gas.
Renewable energy certificates
Renewable energy certificates (RECs) in Australia are issued by the Australian Government's Office of Renewable Energy Regulator. They are equivalent to one-megawatt hour of renewable electricity. RECs can be bought and sold both by electricity retailers and by other businesses in order to meet the legal requirements of MRET.
Smart meters
Smart meters are electricity meters that can be remotely read over the network, instead of needing a technician to come to your house or business and physically read your meter. Data is more reliable, with reads every 30 minutes, helping to provide more accurate bills.
Transformer
Equipment that is used to change the voltage of an electric current. Transformers can increase or decrease voltage.
Voltage
A unit used to measure the electromotive force of an electric current.
Wind power
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into electricity by using wind turbines. A wind turbine is has 3 propeller-like blades called a rotor. The rotor is attached to a tall tower. The tower looks like a very tall pole. On average wind towers are about 20m high. The reason why the tower is so tall is because winds are stronger higher from the ground. The wind flows over the blades creating lift, like the effect on airplane wings, which causes them to turn. The blades are connected to a drive shaft that turns an electric generator to produce electricity.
