Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
3.2 Energy Consumption by Sector
Energy supply involves the delivery of fuels, electricity, or heat from the point of
production to that of consumption. It encompasses the extraction, transformation,
generation, transmission, distribution, and storage of commodities (see
Figure 3.2
). Far
more energy is produced than consumed because losses occur in conversion and delivery
Figure 3.2.
The global system for energy production and consumption. Most of the
sources, processes, and methods of consumption involve greenhouse gas (GHG) emission.
Figure 3.3.
Global energy flux describing the path from energy production to
consumption. The conversion and consumption pathways show that most coal goes to
power plants, natural gas is equally divided between direct consumption and the
residential sector, while most oil is consumed in transportation. This diagram also
illustrates the global loss of energy through conversion, which accounts for more than 30
per cent of primary production.
Source:
IEA website (modified).
Table 3.6.
Energy (in joules) released by some phenomena, devices, and power
plants
J
kWh
1
0.00000028