ENVR 201 Energy Concepts and Vocabulary

Flashcards covering core terminology, energy accounting classifications, storage chemistries, and transition technologies from the ENVR 201 lecture.

Power

The rate at which energy is delivered or consumed, measured in units such as Watts ($\text{W}$) or kilowatts ($\text{kW}$).

Energy

An amount or total quantity of work performed or heat supplied, measured in units such as Joules ($\text{J}$) or kilowatt-hours ($\text{kWh}$).

Primary Energy

Energy harvested directly from natural, raw energy sources prior to any human engineered conversion or transformation process.

Final Energy

Energy delivered directly to end-users (such as electricity at a wall socket or fuel at a gas station) before final end-use conversion.

Useful Energy

The net amount of work or heat delivered by end-use equipment after conversion losses to perform an intended task.

Energy Services

The useful end outcomes delivered to humans through energy use, measured in non-energy units such as kilometres travelled, illumination, warm rooms, or tonnes of steel.

Efficiency

A unitless conversion ratio of useful energy output to energy input, bounded between $0$ and $1$ (0 \backslashle e \backslashle 1).

Efficacy

A performance ratio expressing something valuable obtained per unit of energy or energy per unit of value, such as $\text{lumens/W}$ or $\text{L/100\,km}$.

Energy Source

A primary natural origin of energy, including solar radiation, radioactive decay, and Earth's spin.

Energy Carrier

A converted medium or form used to store and transport energy for human use, such as electricity, hydrogen, batteries, or synthetic fuels.

Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV)

Solar power generating materials integrated directly into building structures to replace conventional exterior building materials.

LFP Battery

Lithium iron phosphate battery chemistry that avoids cobalt and nickel, commonly used for stationary grid storage and electric vehicles.

NMC Battery

Lithium-ion battery chemistry containing nickel, manganese, and cobalt, providing higher energy density for long-range electric vehicles.

Sodium-ion Battery

Battery technology that replaces lithium with abundant sodium to provide low-cost energy storage.

Redox Flow Battery

An energy storage system where chemical energy is stored in liquid anolyte and catholyte solutions pumped from external tanks through a porous electrode cell.

Green Hydrogen

Hydrogen produced via the electrolysis of water using electricity generated from renewable energy sources.

Blue Hydrogen

Hydrogen produced from natural gas combined with steam.

High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC)

An electric power transmission system that uses direct current for long-distance lines and undersea cables to reduce line losses.

Heat Pump

An electric device that moves thermal energy from one location to another rather than generating heat directly, yielding $3$ to $4$ units of heat per unit of electricity.