Energy balance, in terms of
energy economics
Energy economics is a broad scientific subject area which includes topics related to supply and use of energy in societies. Considering the cost of energy services and associated value gives economic meaning to the efficiency at which energ ...
, is concerned with all processes within an organization that have a reference to
energy
In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of hea ...
. It derives from the
ecobalance and has the ambition to analyze and verify the emergence, transformation and use of energy resources in an
organization
An organization or organisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is an legal entity, entity—such as ...
in detail. Energy balances serve as a major statistical data base for
energy policy and
energy management
Energy management includes planning and operation of energy production and energy consumption units as well as energy distribution and storage. Objectives are resource conservation, climate protection and cost savings, while the users have per ...
decisions. They contain important information such as the amount and composition of
energy consumption, its changes or the transformation of energy.
Countries and
NGO
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
s publish energy balances, for instance ''World Energy Balances'' published by the
International Energy Agency IEA.
Approach
The basic idea of a balance is that nothing can get lost or annihilated - this fits to
the first law of thermodynamics, which assigns energy this property. But energy splits up during usage and its output does not have the same potential for the physical performance as before.
For this reason it is important to distinguish between input and output of energy usage. The input side can easily be measured with the help of the meter readings. But on the output side there may be effects that are difficulty predictable, such as
heat
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...
,
dust
Dust is made of fine particles of solid matter. On Earth, it generally consists of particles in the atmosphere that come from various sources such as soil lifted by wind (an aeolian process), volcanic eruptions, and pollution. Dust in ho ...
or
noise
Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference aris ...
. In this context it is very interesting, how much of the energy used has actually reached the intended use. Based on this
calculation, improvement measures can be derived. A separation in energy sources and places of consumption is necessary. An Outline based on the cost centre of the organization is also possible.
[Johannes Kals: ''Betriebliches Energiemanagement - Eine Einführung.'' ]Kohlhammer Verlag
W. Kohlhammer Verlag GmbH, or Kohlhammer Verlag, is a German publishing house headquartered in Stuttgart.
History
Kohlhammer Verlag was founded in Stuttgart on 30 April 1866 by . Kohlhammer had taken over the businesses of his late father-in-l ...
, Stuttgart 2010, , p. 25 - 27.
See also
*
Energy system
An energy system is a system primarily designed to supply energy-services to end-users. The intent behind energy systems is to minimise energy losses to a negligible level, as well as to ensure the efficient use of energy. The IPCC Fifth ...
*
Worldwide energy supply
References
{{reflist, 30em
Energy economics
Energy technology