AdvancedTopic 103 of 105Thermodynamics & Fluids
Energy efficiency and sustainability
Evaluate systems on life-cycle energy and emissions.
In depth
Evaluate systems using first-law and second-law efficiency, life-cycle energy and carbon emissions, payback and cost. Strategies: waste-heat recovery, cogeneration, efficient components, controls, electrification with low-carbon power, insulation. Rebound effects can reduce expected savings.
Key points
- LCA and EROI
- Heat integration (pinch analysis)
- Standards ISO 50001
ExampleCHP plants reach over 80% total efficiency by using waste heat.
What is Energy efficiency and sustainability?
Evaluate systems on life-cycle energy and emissions.
Why is it important to understand energy efficiency and sustainability?
Life-cycle energy and emissions assessment shows the full environmental cost of a system, not just its operating efficiency.
What is life-cycle assessment?
A method that accounts for resources and emissions from production, operation and disposal of a product or system.
Why does embodied energy matter?
For efficient buildings and products, the energy used to make materials can be a large share of the total impact over their life.
How is Energy efficiency and sustainability used in practice?
Typical applications include comparing the environmental impact of a gas boiler and a heat pump over their lives, choosing a building material based on embodied energy and setting a target for emissions reduction in a plant upgrade.
What should I learn before Energy efficiency and sustainability?
Study "Geothermal and solar thermal systems" first (topic 102 of 105 in Thermodynamics & Fluids). It covers the groundwork this topic builds on.
What are the key points of Energy efficiency and sustainability?
LCA and EROI. Heat integration (pinch analysis). Standards ISO 50001.
Can you give an example of Energy efficiency and sustainability?
CHP plants reach over 80% total efficiency by using waste heat.
What comes after Energy efficiency and sustainability?
The next topic is "Large eddy simulation", which builds directly on this one.
How difficult is Energy efficiency and sustainability?
It is classed as Advanced in Thermodynamics & Fluids (topic 103 of 105). It is an advanced topic. It assumes you are comfortable with the intermediate topics in Thermodynamics & Fluids.