Best Practice Guide

Glossary

Introduction

Planning an Energy Program

Funding and Approval

Lighting

Building Envelope

Central HVAC System

Distributed Generation

Demand Response

Commissioning

Procurement Policy

Water Use

Education

Energy Efficiency in Telecommuting

Resources and Appendices

Lessons Learned

Best Practice Guide Glossary

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THERMODYNAMICS Return to list of terms

A study of the transformation of energy into other manifested forms and of their practical applications. The three laws of thermodynamics are: Law of Conservation of Energy- energy may be transformed in an isolated system, but its total is constant, Heat cannot be changed directly into work at constant temperature by a cyclic process, Heat capacity and entropy of every crystalline solid becomes zero at absolute zero (0 degrees Kelvin).

Source: California Energy Commission