Lexicon

Abject
Accretion
Actant
Aeration
Aerobic
Algae-boosted
Animal
Anthropomorphism
Anti-Continuous Construction
Apocalypse
Aquaculture
Aquanaut
Ark
Artificial Intelligence
Autopoiesis
Assemblages
Asymmetry
Atrophy
Attraction
Autarchy
Automata
Automation
Autosymbiosis
Bambassador
Bathyscaphe
Bioconurbation
Biomedia
Bionics
Biosphere
Biotechnique
By-product
Capacity
Actant
Coisolation
Composting
Conservative Surgery
Consumer Envelope
Consumption
Continuous Construction
Conurbation
Correalism
Cultural_Memory
Cybernetics
Cybertecture
Cyborg
Dispositif
Diving Saucer
Dross
Earthship
Ecocatastrophe
Effluvium
Egosphere
End-use
Entanglement
Eutopia
Feedback
Foam
Folk
Gadget
Garbage House
Green Cyborg
Heuristic
Hoard
Holism
Homogenization of Desire
Hostile
Human Affect
Hybridized Folk
Hydroponic
Hyper-Materialism
Information Economy
Inner Space
Interama
Intra-Uterine
Maque
Megalopolis
Min-use
Mobility
Monorail
Multi-Hinge
Non-Design
Oceanaut
Oppositional Consciousness
Organic
Ouroboros
Panarchy
Parasite
Perceived Continuation
Permanence
Place
Prototype
Post-Animal
Reclamation
RI: Data Farms
RI: Garbage and Animals
RI:Shipbreaking
RI: Toxic Sublime
Sampling
Scale
Sensing Structure
Simulacrum
Simulation
Soft Energy
Spaceship Earth
Submersible
Superwindow
Symbiosis
Synthetic Environment
Technocratic
Technological Heredity
Technological Sublime
Telechirics
The Sublime
Thermal Panel
Actant
Thing-Power
Thinking Machines
Tool
Toxic Withdrawal
Turbulence
UV-Transparent Film
Vibrant Matter
Waste
Work

Thermal Panel

Panel is a flat or curved component, typically rectangular, that forms or is set into the surface of a door, wall, or ceiling. Thermal panel collects heat by absorbing sunlight, then transfer to other uses, for example hot water.1 Rocky Mountain Institute is a successful experimental house, one important feature is that it is not using the traditional HVAC system; instead, through deliberate design at each corner of the house, under an extreme environment, the house is thermally insulated very well. Lovins utilizes photovoltaic panels and thermal panels to maximizing solar energy, taking advantage of natural energy.2 These panels nearly double the amount of solar electricity production, enough for the house’s need. Solar panel products such as water heaters were populated in daily life for a short period of time, the slogan of more energy efficiency and more economical did attract a lot attention. However, probably because of the immature technology, these products were not functioning properly that they were soon abandoned. Even though having a not so succeed history, considering the long-term benefit of using natural energies in daily life, economically or environmentally, it is still promising.

1: cleantechnica.com. Accessed April 28, 2015.
2: Jeffrey Ball, “The Homely Costs of Energy Conservation,” The Wall Street Journal, August 2009. Accessed October 4, 2014,