Terms

Glossary of Terms

  • AHJ: Acronym that stands for Authority Having Jurisdiction. AHJ is often used to describe the designated department or agency that enforces certain laws or regulations. It is often used interchangeably with the term Enforcing Agency.
  • BIPV: Acronym that stands for Building Integrated Photovoltaic, which is a form of photovoltaic solar energy technology that is integrated into the building envelope to become a part of the roof, skylight, or façade.
  • Contractor: A contractor licensed by the state of Missouri or Kansas performing work within the scope of their license.
  • Dead Load: The weight of materials of construction incorporated into the building, including but not limited to walls, floors, roofs, ceilings, stairways, built-in partitions, finishes, cladding, and other similarly incorporated architectural and structural items, and the weight of fixed-service equipment, such as cranes, plumbing stacks and risers, electrical feeders, heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems and automatic sprinkler systems.
  • Enforcement: A diligent effort to secure compliance, including review of plans and permit applications, response to complaints, citation of violations, and another legal processes. Except as otherwise provided in this part, "enforcement" may, but need not, include inspections of existing buildings on which no complaint or permit application has been filed, and an effort to secure compliance as to these existing buildings.
  • Enforcing Agency: The designated department or agency that enforces certain laws or regulations, as specified by statute or regulation. In regard to solar PV installations, this entity can also be referred to as the "permitting agency," since it is often the entity that issues a permit to allow for solar installations to be constructed.
  • Comprehensive Plan: A document adopted by a city or county to create a long-term vision to guide the jurisdiction's future growth and land use. It includes a statement of development policies and implementing actions to achieve its development objectives.
  • Live Load: Loads produced by the use and occupancy of the building or other structure and not including construction or environmental loads such as wind load, snow load, rain load, earthquake load, flood load, or dead load.
  • Photovoltaic: A method of generating electrical power by converting solar radiation (sunlight) generating electrical power into direct current electricity using semiconductors.
  • Qualified Person: One who has the required state license and has proper skills and knowledge related to the construction and operation of the electrical equipment and installations and has received safety training to recognize and avoid the hazards involved.
  • Solar Photovoltaic System: The total components and subsystems that, in combination, convert solar energy into electric energy suitable for connection to utilization load.