Terms — K

43 field terms starting with K, 11 with a full reference page. Each links to the Anvilfield guides where the term is used on the job.

Tension constant, commonly about 0.008 lbf per circular mil for copper and 0.006 for aluminum; verify against the manufacturer and ICEAIn: Cable pull planning and tension card

k (modulus of subgrade reaction)

Soil support stiffness, pressure per unit deflection, in pci; higher and uniform is betterIn: Slab on grade design and thickness

K&T

Knob and tube, the open-air two-wire method using porcelain knobs and tubes, with no groundIn: Knob and tube wiring

K-class

The fire class and portable extinguisher type for cooking oils and fats, governed by NFPA 10In: Hood suppression semi-annual guide

K-factor

A transformer's rating for handling harmonic heating, from K-1 to K-50 under UL 1561In: Fire sprinkler system design guide Dry vs liquid transformer guide VAV box commissioning field guide Harmonics and power quality

K-rated

A transformer built with extra thermal capacity and a 200 percent neutral for harmonic loadIn: Dry-type transformer guide

K-rated transformer

A transformer rated to withstand the harmonic heating from nonlinear IT loads, by a K-factor from 1 upIn: PDU and RPP commissioning

k-value

Modulus of subgrade reaction, the stiffness of the support under the slab, in pci or MPa/mIn: Concrete pavement types

Kiloamps, thousands of amps, the unit fault current and SCCR are expressed inIn: UL 508A control panel and SCCR

kAIC

Thousand amps interrupting capacity, the short-circuit rating of low-voltage gear and overcurrent devicesIn: Switchgear receiving inspection Busway receiving and megger QA

Crop coefficient, the factor that scales ETo to a specific plant type's needIn: Irrigation controller programming

kcmil

Thousands of circular mils of conductor area, the basis for the 0.008 copper and 0.006 aluminum tension constantsIn: Cable pull planning and tension card

kcmil / MCM

Thousand circular mils, the size unit for large conductors; the two terms are identicalIn: Cable reel receiving and remainder log

Key-up / key-down

Connector orientation relative to the key; sets the left-to-right P1 to P12 fiber numbering and how arrays mateIn: MPO/MTP polarity methods

Keyway

The shaped joint between deck members that is grouted to transfer shear and form the diaphragmIn: Precast erection and connections

Keyway / offset

The gap between adjacent pieces for the wood to swell, and the side-to-side stagger of those gaps course to course so they do not alignIn: Wood shake and shingle roofing

Kick-out flashing

The diverter where a roof eave meets a sidewall that throws roof runoff out of the wall instead of behind the sidingIn: Siding installation

Knob / tube

Porcelain support that holds the wire off framing; porcelain sleeve the wire passes through framing inIn: Knob and tube wiring

Knowledge transfer

Capturing the site-specific and tribal knowledge of experienced staff before they leave, through documentation and mentoringIn: Data center staffing and workforce

Known-unknown

A risk you can identify but cannot yet price exactly. Contingency covers these; the unforeseeable unknown-unknowns are covered by a management reserve.In: Contingency and risk pricing

KPI

Key performance indicator: one of the few numbers that move with the health of the businessIn: Business KPIs and dashboard metrics

kVA

Apparent power, the vector sum of kW and kVAR that the conductors and transformer carryIn: Power factor correction EPMS and power metering Dry-type transformer guide

kVA (apparent power)

The total the alternator and conductors carry, what the alternator is sized forIn: Data center generator sizing Load bank test acceptance criteria Generator acceptance and turnover

kVA / kW

Apparent power and real power; their ratio is the power factor that the UPS rating depends onIn: UPS and STS commissioning hold points

kVA / kW / power factor

Apparent power, real power, and their ratio; modern UPS rate at unityIn: UPS types and technologies

kVA / MVA

Apparent power rating, in thousands or millions of volt-amps; the transformer's sizeIn: Dry vs liquid transformer guide One-line diagram field guide Padmount transformer energization

kVAR

Kilovolt-amperes-reactive, the magnetizing power a capacitor supplies or a motor drawsIn: Power factor correction EPMS and power metering

kVAR (reactive power)

The reactive component a reactive or inductive load bank producesIn: Load bank test acceptance criteria

kVAR_c

Correction reactive power the capacitors must supply to reach the target power factorIn: Power factor correction

Real power, the power that does work, turns the shaft, and makes heat and lightIn: Power factor correction EPMS and power metering

kW (real power)

The power the engine produces and the load consumes, what the engine is sized forIn: Data center generator sizing Load bank test acceptance criteria Generator acceptance and turnover

kW / kVA / kVAR

Real power, apparent power, and reactive power; the genset rating ties them through power factorIn: Generator load bank testing EPMS and power metering

kW / ton

Kilowatt of heat load; one ton of cooling is 12,000 BTU per hour, about 3.5 kWIn: Data center cooling system types

kW per door

The heat a single rear door rejects, set by the water temperature, flow, and the door's capacity curveIn: Rear-door heat exchanger commissioning

kW per rack

Power drawn by a single cabinet, the design number for feeder, busway, and cooling sizingIn: Rack readiness field guide AI GPU rack readiness

kW per tank

The heat load a tank carries; immersion tanks reach densities far above an air-cooled rackIn: Immersion cooling acceptance

kW per ton

Electrical power drawn per ton of cooling produced, lower is more efficientIn: Chiller types and selection

kW rejected

The heat the CDU moves from the secondary loop to the facility water or room air, its capacity at design conditionsIn: CDU commissioning

kW vs kWh / C-rate

Power (kW) is how fast it delivers, energy (kWh) is how much it holds, and the C-rate is the ratio that sets how hard the battery is runIn: Battery energy storage (BESS)

kW/ton

Total plant power divided by tons of cooling; the plant efficiency metric, lower is betterIn: Chiller plant sequencing optimization Chiller plant startup commissioning

kWh

Kilowatt-hour, the energy unit PUE is built from; use energy over a period, not a single power reading in kWIn: Data center PUE and energy efficiency

kWh / kW

Kilowatt-hours measure energy used; kilowatts measure the rate, and the peak rate is demandIn: Submetering and energy monitoring

kWh / MWh

Energy stored, kilowatt-hours and megawatt-hours, compared against nameplate capacityIn: BESS commissioning punch list

J L

All glossary terms

On the job

Crews log these terms against real jobs in FieldOS, then hand the customer a clean proof page. See how FieldOS works.