A plot of electron affinity (EA) and ionization potential (IP) versus energy band gap (E-G) for 69 binary closed-shell inorganic semiconductors and insulators reveals that E-G is centered about the hydrogen donor/acceptor ionization energy epsilon(+/-). Thus, epsilon(+/-), or equivalently the standard hydrogen electrode (SHE) energy, functions as an absolute energy reference, determining the tendency of an atom to be either a cation or anion in a compound. This empirical trend establishes the basis for defining a new solid state energy (SSE) scale. This SSE scale makes possible simple approaches for quantitatively assessing electronegativity, chemical hardness, and ionicity, while also providing new insight into the periodic trends of solids.