An instant-start ballast is designed to start a lamp extremely quickly. Lamps are started with a high voltage instead of by preheating lamp cathodes.

A rapid-start ballast is designed to start a lamp fairly quickly. Lamps are started with a high voltage instead and by preheating lamp cathodes.

Energy from organic matter used directly for heat or to power a generator for electricity.

The British thermal unit (BTU or Btu) is a unit of heat energy. Btu is defined as the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit. In the energy industry, energy content is typically defined in terms of Million Btu, or MMBtu. (1 kWh = 3414.42 Btus, 1 Therm = 100043 Btus)

CEE is a consortium of efficiency program administrators from across the U.S. and Canada who work together on common approaches to advancing efficiency. Through joining forces, the individual efficiency programs of CEE are able to partner not only with each other, but with other industries, trade associations, and government agencies. By working to [..]

Using less energy to perform the same amount of work.

A measure of how efficient space cooling equipment is. It is a ratio of the cooling output and the input power.The higher an EER rating, the more efficient the equipment.

the ability to do work (measured in Joules, Btu or kWh)

The number of degrees that a daily average temperature is below a base temperature (typically 65°), summed up daily for an entire year. The heating degree days for a certain climate or locations can be used to estimate how much energy will be needed to keep a space warm.

In lighting, the Kelvin scale is used to describe the color of light in degrees. Ex 25000 = Soft white (warm), 50000 = daylight