Home Utilities Glossary: Electricity, Water, and Gas

Water and Sewage

• Greywater: Waters that have been used in toilets, etc.
• Sewage: Waters that have been used to remove excrement.
• Downpipe: A conduit that carries wastewater to sewers.
• Distribution Network: Deals with the distribution of water ready to drink, called potable water.
• Siphon Outlet: U-shaped tube that always contains water to prevent the passage of odors.

Environmental Design

• Environmental Design: Aims to achieve thermal comfort inside a house naturally, taking into account the environmental conditions of the house and climate.

Broadband and Digital TV

• Broadband: A communication connection that allows faster data flow between sender and receiver.
• Decoder: A device that receives a signal and interprets it by offering a sound and signal that images a TV or other device can interpret.
• Digital TV Terrestrial: Broadcast television signal wave which must be collected at households through a decoder.

Electricity

• Ground Wire: Cable that connects protection facilities to household electricity to improve safety.
• Phase: One cable that carries electrical currents in a house.
• Neutral: One of the wires that allows the circulation of electricity through the circuits of a home.
• Phase Decosificador: Brown, gray, or black.
• Neutral: Blue.
• Earth: Green and yellow bands.
• Switch Power Control: Limits the maximum total consumption of a house by connecting consumer devices with a higher engagement than the general automatic switch.
• Circuit Breaker: Monitors the intensity that flows through the circuits of the house. If it goes below a certain value or beyond, there is a short circuit.
• Cutting Device: It is a protective device that cuts off the current when there is a warming or a short circuit.
• Busbar: Connection of ground rods.
• Differential Switch: Responsible for the protection of persons with possible discharges produced by a differential. It establishes the balance between the input current in the house and an output current, which should be equal. This switch has a button to check its operation. When pressed, it provokes a referral to land. If the installation is well done and the switch is working, the current should be cut.
• PLC: Electric network communication.

Gas

• Boiler: A device where gas is burned to heat water flowing through the pipes.
• Cliche: Air intake for a cleaner burner combustion.
• Pipeline: Driving gas transported long distances.
• LPG: Liquefied petroleum derivatives, such as butane cylinders.
• Governor: A mechanism that regulates gas pressure.