Energy engineering or Energy Systems Engineering is a broad field of
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
dealing with
energy efficiency
Energy efficiency may refer to:
* Energy efficiency (physics), the ratio between the useful output and input of an energy conversion process
** Electrical efficiency, useful power output per electrical power consumed
** Mechanical efficiency, a ra ...
,
energy services
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 As ...
,
facility management
Facility management or facilities management (FM) is a professional management discipline focused on the efficient and effective delivery of logistics and other support services related to real property and buildings. It encompasses multiple disc ...
, plant engineering,
environmental compliance
Environmental compliance means conforming to environmental laws, regulations, standards and other requirements such as site permits to operate. In recent years, environmental concerns have led to a significant increase in the number and scope o ...
,
sustainable energy
Energy is sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". Most definitions of sustainable energy include considerations of environmental aspects such as greenh ...
and
renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...
technologies. Energy engineering is one of the most recent engineering disciplines to emerge. Energy engineering combines knowledge from the fields of
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
,
math
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
, and
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
with economic and environmental engineering practices. Energy engineers apply their skills to increase efficiency and further develop renewable sources of energy.
The main job of energy engineers is to find the most efficient and sustainable ways to operate buildings and manufacturing processes. Energy engineers audit the use of energy in those processes and suggest ways to improve the systems. This means suggesting advanced lighting, better insulation, more efficient heating and cooling properties of buildings.
[Berkeley Engineering (2013).] Although an energy engineer is concerned about obtaining and using energy in the most environmentally friendly ways, their field is not limited to strictly renewable energy like hydro, solar, biomass, or geothermal. Energy engineers are also employed by the fields of oil and natural gas extraction.
[
]
Purpose
Energy minimization is the purpose of this growing discipline. Often applied to building design, heavy consideration is given to HVAC
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HV ...
, lighting
Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylig ...
, refrigeration
The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...
, to both reduce energy loads and increase efficiency
Efficiency is the often measurable ability to avoid wasting materials, energy, efforts, money, and time in doing something or in producing a desired result. In a more general sense, it is the ability to do things well, successfully, and without ...
of current systems. Energy engineering is increasingly seen as a major step forward in meeting carbon reduction targets. Since buildings and houses consume over 40% of the United States energy, the services an energy engineer performs are in demand.
History
Human beings have been transferring 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 heat a ...
from one form to another since their use of fire. The efficiency of the transfer of energy is a new field. The oil crisis of 1973
The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...
and energy crisis of 1979 brought to light the need to get more work out of less energy. The United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
government passed several laws in the seventies to promote increased energy efficiency
Energy efficiency may refer to:
* Energy efficiency (physics), the ratio between the useful output and input of an energy conversion process
** Electrical efficiency, useful power output per electrical power consumed
** Mechanical efficiency, a ra ...
, such as United States public law 94-413, the Federal Clean Car Incentive Program
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
.
Power engineering
Considered a subdivision of energy engineering, power engineering
Power engineering, also called power systems engineering, is a subfield of electrical engineering that deals with the generation, transmission, distribution, and utilization of electric power, and the electrical apparatus connected to such sy ...
applies math and physics to the movement and transfer of energy to work in a system.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a
green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...
(LEED) is a program created by the United States Green Building Council
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), co-founded by Mike Italiano, David Gottfried and Rick Fedrizzi in 1993, is a private 501(c)3, membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and op ...
(USGBC) in March 2000. LEED is a program that encourages green building and promotes sustainability in the construction of buildings and the efficiency of the utilities in the buildings.
In 2012 the United States Green Building Council asked the independent firm Booz Allen Hamilton
Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (informally Booz Allen) is the parent of Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., an American management and information technology consulting firm, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in Greater Washington, D.C., with 8 ...
to conduct a study on the effectiveness of LEED program. "This study confirmed that green buildings generate substantial energy savings. From 2000–2008, green construction and renovation generated $1.3 billion in energy savings. Of that $1.3 billion, LEED-certified buildings accounted for $281 million." The study also found the summation of all green construction supported 2.4 million jobs.
Energy efficiency
Energy efficiency
Energy efficiency may refer to:
* Energy efficiency (physics), the ratio between the useful output and input of an energy conversion process
** Electrical efficiency, useful power output per electrical power consumed
** Mechanical efficiency, a ra ...
is seen two ways. The first view is that more work is done from the same amount of energy used. The other perception is that the same amount of work is accomplished with less energy used in the system. Some ways to get more work out of less energy is to "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle" the materials used in daily life. The advancement of technology has led to other uses of waste. Technology such as waste-to-energy
Waste-to-energy (WtE) or energy-from-waste (EfW) is the process of generating energy in the form of electricity and/or heat from the primary treatment of waste, or the processing of waste into a fuel source. WtE is a form of energy recovery. Mo ...
facilities which convert solid wastes through the process of gasification
Gasification is a process that converts biomass- or fossil fuel-based carbonaceous materials into gases, including as the largest fractions: nitrogen (N2), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H2), and carbon dioxide (). This is achieved by reacting ...
or pyrolysis
The pyrolysis (or devolatilization) process is the thermal decomposition of materials at elevated temperatures, often in an inert atmosphere. It involves a change of chemical composition. The word is coined from the Greek-derived elements ''py ...
to liquid fuels to be burned. The Environmental Protection Agency
A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...
stated that the United States produced 250 million tons of municipal waste in 2010. Of that 250 million tons roughly 54% gets thrown in land fills, 33% is recycled, and 13% goes to energy recovery
Energy recovery includes any technique or method of minimizing the input of energy to an overall system by the exchange of energy from one sub-system of the overall system with another. The energy can be in any form in either subsystem, but mos ...
plants.[Crawford (2013).] In European countries who pay more for fuel, such as Denmark where the price of gas neared in 2010, have more fully developed waste-to energy facilities. In 2010 Denmark sent 7% of waste to landfills, 69% was recycled, and 24% was sent to waste-to-energy facilities. There are several other developed Western European countries that also have taken energy engineering into consideration.[ ]Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
's "Energiewende
The ''Energiewende'' (; ) is the ongoing transition by Germany to a low carbon, environmentally sound, reliable, and affordable energy supply. The new system intends to rely heavily on renewable energy (particularly wind, photovoltaics, and ...
", a policy which set the goal by 2050 to meet 80% of electrical needs from renewable energy sources.
Statistics
The median yearly salary for an energy engineer is $64,587 U.S. dollars. 83% of energy engineers are male while the remaining 17% are female. 65% of energy engineers have less than five years of experience in their profession.
Education
A bachelor's degree is a primary requirement of becoming an energy engineer, while a student who wants to become an energy engineer does not directly need to get a degree in energy engineering, several universities across the world have established departments or centers offering energy engineering degrees, to better prepare future engineers for their career. One of those programs is the IEP PEM Certification which is offered at Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...
University. The Certified Professional Energy Manager (PEM) was created in conjunction by the Institute of Energy Professionals (IEP) and Energy University. Since 2009, Energy University has provided energy efficiency education to more than 130,000 professionals worldwide. The program offers more than 150 courses.
Notable energy engineers
*Martin Bercovici
Martin Bercovici (24 August 1902, in Bârlad – 19 January 1971, in Bucharest) was a Romanian electrical engineer who contributed to the development of energy engineering education in Romania and to the plan of electric networks building of Roman ...
(1902–1971), Romanian electrical engineer
*Claudia Sheinbaum
Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (born 24 June 1962) is a Mexican scientist, politician, and head of government of Mexico City, a position equivalent to a state governor. She was elected on 1 July 2018 as part of the Juntos Haremos Historia coalition. S ...
(born 1962), Mexican scientist and head of government of Mexico City
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Association of Energy Engineers
World Energy Engineering Congress
Penn State Energy Engineering
Energy Managers Association
{{Footer energy
Engineering disciplines