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Energy 101 Steve Brick Energy Center of Wisconsin ecw.org
Energy 101
Steve BrickEnergy Center of Wisconsin
ecw.org
Overview
Energy currency Rules Terms Statistics Implications The Future
The Currency Energy is the ability to do work
Joules are the international currency A joule equals one watt-second (power * time)
A British Thermal Unit (Btu) = 1,055 joules One kilowatt (kWh) hour = 3,412 Btu One therm = 100,000 Btu One calorie = 4.184 joules One dietary calorie = 1,000 calories
kWh and therms are important for consumers – these are the units that electric and gas bills are expressed in
Rules
Thermodynamics Energy Facility
Siting
The laws of thermodynamics
You can’t win You can’t break even You can’t get out of the game
The second law Entropy – disorder
– always increases The most important
law Disorder = pollution
The rule of facility siting “No one wants to
live next to the skunk works, no matter how many skunks they use.” Energy demand
continues to grow, but building new facilities is difficult.
Energy resources Non-renewable resources
Fossil Coal Oil Natural Gas
Non-fossil Uranium Thorium
Renewable Resources Wind Hydro Biomass Geothermal Solar
Non-renewable energy... Is running out ...
Petroleum – 100 years
Coal – 400 years
Will we really run out? Maybe...
Basic statistics US per capita energy
consumption = 345 million Btus
Denmark per capita energy consumption = 175 million Btus
Energy consumption in China = 20 million Btus
US Energy Production, 2002 (71 quads)
Coal = 33% Gas = 31 % Oil = 17% Nuclear = 11% Renewable = 8%
23
22
12
8
6
Coal Gas Oil Nuclear Renewable
US Energy Consumption, 2002 (97 quads)
Coal = 23% Gas = 24% Oil = 39% Nuclear = 8% Renewable = 6%
22
2338
86
Coal Gas Oil NuclearRenewable
Energy Balance, 2002 (quads)
-30
-20
-10
0
10
20
30
40
Coal Gas Oil Nuclear Renewable
Production Consumption Net
Total End Use Consumption, 2002 (quads)
Residential = 22% Commercial = 18% Industrial = 33% Transportation = 27%
21
17
32
27
Residential Commercial
Industrial Transportation
Primary End Use Consumption, 2002 (quads)
Residential = 7% Commercial = 4% Industrial = 22% Transportation = 27% Electricity = 40%
74
22
26
38
Residential Commercial IndustrialTransportation Electricity
Where do I use energy?
Household – electricity, natural gas, propane, wood, wind, photovoltaic
Transportation – gasoline, diesel fuel Purchases – embodied energy
The Brick Family energy budget (1,725 Million Btus....)
Electricity = 51 million Btus
Natural gas = 99 million Btus
Automobiles = 161 million Btus
Air travel = 79 million Btus This all equals 390
million Btus – the rest is embodied in purchases and in all the energy it takes to run American society
Efficiency What if 3 quarts of
milk were lost between the cow and the gallon in the refrigerator?
Efficiency That’s the way it is
with electricity The total efficiency
of the system (from mine to the outlet in your house) is only about 25 percent! For every Btu
delivered three are wasted
Efficiency That’s the way it is
with the internal combustion engine Total system
efficiency is only about 20 percent For every Btu
delivered four are wasted
Implications Our standard of
living is intimately tied to our consumption of fossil fuels
Our standard of living has serious environmental implications
Environmental Issues Air pollution
Ozone Particles Acid Rain Climate Change
Water use Pollution Thermal Consumption
Land use Sprawl Habitat fragmentation
Is the fossil fuel picnic sustainable? Fossil fuel resources
are finite Scientific consensus
that climate change is real To stabilize climate,
we need to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases 70-80 percent below present levels by about 2050 – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Can we do this? The Energy
Pyramid Energy efficiency Renewable energy New technologies
Consumer Responsibility Where does my
energy come from? What does my
energy cost? What are the direct
costs? What are the
indirect costs Education is key!
