Energy has its own vocabulary.

Webber Energy Group

2

Energy and Power are often

used interchangeably, but they
mean slightly different things.

Webber Energy Group

3

Energy: quantity
Ability to do work

Webber Energy Group

4

Power: rate
Work over time

Webber Energy Group

5

Energy Has Many Units

Scientific Units:

Proxy Units:

Fuels:
BTU = British Thermal Units
Quad = 1 quadrillion (BTU)
Joules (J, kJ, MJ,)
Calories

Volume: assumes a particular

volumetric energy density
barrels of energy (boe),
barrels of oil equivalent (boee),
cubic feet,

Electricity:
kWh = kiloWatt-hour
MWh = MegaWatt-hour
GWh = GigaWatt-hour

Mass: assumes a particular

gravimetric energy density
tons of energy,
tonnes of oil equivalent (toe),
kg of energy (kgoe)

Webber Energy Group

6

Power is a Rate of Energy

Power: work performed over a period of time

Or energy produced over a period of time
Or energy consumed over a period of time
Its a rate not a quantity

Webber Energy Group

7

Power is a Rate of Energy

Units:
Watt (W, kW, MW, GW,)
Horsepower

kiloWatts of energy is nonsensical

Power density: W/m
2

Heat flux density, irradiance,

Webber Energy Group

8

Energy = Power Time

A light bulb consumes energy at a rate of 100 W

Its instantaneous power consumption is 100 W
After 1 hour, it has consumed 100 Wh or 0.1 kWh
After 10 hours, it has consumed 1 kWh
Note: power consumption at a house is roughly 14 kW
Note: a humans nominal power consumption is 100 W
de.wikipedia, original upload 26 Jun 2004
by de:Benutzer:KMJ

Webber Energy Group

9

Energy = Power Time

Example: A nuclear plant has a power capacity of 1 GW

After 1 hour, generates 1 GWh of electricity
After 1 year, generates 8,760 GWh of electricity
NOTE: 8,760 hours per year

Converting from GWh to kWh

1 GWh = 1 million kWh
Total U.S. electricity in 2011:

4,000 billion kWh

Webber Energy Group

10

There is a Difference Between

Primary and Secondary Energy

Primary energy:

original/unconverted fuel sources

Secondary energy:

converted/stored energy

petroleum

electricity

natural gas

hydrogen

coal

pumped hydroelectric

biomass
water, wind, solar,

Webber Energy Group

11

Energy Notation
Scientific Prefix

Multiplier

English

Roman Numerals

m = milli

1/1,000

thousandth

c = centi

1/100

hundredth

d = deci

1/10

tenth

da = deka

10

ten

h = hecto

100

hundred

k = kilo

1,000

thousand

M = mega

1 x 106

million

G = giga

1 x 109

billion

T = tera

1 x 1012

trillion

P = peta

1 x 1015

quadrillion

E = exa

1 x 1018

quintillion

Webber Energy Group

12

Energy Notation

MW = megaWatts = 1 million watts

MMBTU = million BTU = thousand, thousand BTU
MMBBLS = million blue barrels = thousand, thousand barrels
MMBD = million barrels per day = thousand, thousand barrels per day
also sometimes noted mbd
BOE = barrel of energy or barrel of oil equivalent
MMBDOE = million barrels per day of oil equivalent (an amount of energy)

Webber Energy Group

13

We Have Some Fortunate Conversions:

Natural Gas

The energy content of 1,000 SCF of

natural gas is approximately 1 million BTU

SCF = standard cubic foot

MCF = thousand cubic feet (also mcf or Mcf or mil)
1,028 BTU per cubic foot
1,000 SCF = 1 MCF = 1.028 MMBTU

Price is often given in MCF or MMBTU

The energy content is the same within 3%

Webber Energy Group

14

We Have Some Fortunate Conversions:

Tons

A ton is about a tonne

English system:

Ton = dry ton = short ton = 2000 lbs

Metric/SI system:
Tonne = metric ton = metric tonne = MT = 1,000 kg

1 kg = 2.2 lbs
1 metric ton = 1000 kg = 2200 lbs = 1.1 tons
1 metric ton = 1 tonne = 1.1 tons
Only wrong by 10%
Webber Energy Group
15

We Have Some Fortunate Conversions:

Large Scale Energy Units

An Exajoule and Quad are about the same

Metric/SI system:
18 J
1
Exajoule
(EJ)
=
1
quintillion
Joules
=
1

10

English system:
15 BTU
1
Quad
=
1
quadrillion
BTU
=
1

10

1 EJ = 0.948 Quad
100 Quads = 105 EJ
Accurate within ~5%
Webber Energy Group
16

Data Sources

Energy is highly politicizedpay attention to sources

Guide for evaluating sources
Sample authoritative sources
Governmental agencies
Industry and trade associations
NGOs and watchdog groups

Webber Energy Group

17