'non-heat-driven' is a modern English compound formed from the prefix 'non-' (meaning 'not'), the noun 'heat' (from Old English 'hǣtu' meaning 'warmth, heat'), and the past participle 'driven' (from the verb 'drive').

'non-' comes from Latin/Old English negative elements and has long been used in English to form negations; 'heat' comes from Old English 'hǣtu' and retained its meaning of 'warmth'; 'drive' (Old English 'drīfan') originally meant 'to push or force' and its past participle 'driven' came to be used in compounds meaning 'caused by'. The phrase evolved from forms like 'not heat-driven' to the hyphenated modern 'non-heat-driven'.

Initially components like 'drive' primarily meant physical pushing or forcing; when combined in constructions such as 'heat-driven' the meaning broadened to 'caused or powered by heat.' 'Non-heat-driven' therefore straightforwardly means 'not caused or powered by heat' and has retained that literal negated sense in modern technical usage.