ENVR 201: Energy Systems, Power vs. Energy, and 2060 Vision Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering core energy terminology, efficiency definitions, renewable energy sources, energy carriers, storage systems, and infrastructure concepts.

Power

The rate at which energy is delivered or used, measured in units such as Watts ($W$), kilowatts ($kW$), or horsepower.

Energy

The total amount of work performed or supplied, measured in units such as Joules ($J$), calories ($cal$), kilowatt-hours ($kWh$), or BTU.

Primary Energy

Energy in its raw, natural form prior to any conversion or transformation processes (such as crude oil, sunlight, wind, or natural gas in the ground).

Final Energy

Energy delivered to the final consumer after transformation and transport (such as electricity at the socket or gasoline at the pump).

Useful Energy

The portion of energy actually made available to perform the desired task after accounting for end-use conversion losses (such as heat delivered to a room or kinetic energy of a moving vehicle).

Energy Services

The functional benefits or valuable outputs obtained by consuming energy, expressed in non-energy units (such as illumination, kilometres travelled, warm rooms, or tonnes of steel).

Efficiency

A unitless conversion ratio ($0 \le e \le 1$) representing the proportion of useful energy output relative to total energy input.

Efficacy

A measure of valuable output generated per unit of energy consumed (or energy required per unit of value), such as $L/100\,km$ or $lumens/W$.

Energy Carrier

A form of energy that has been transformed so that it can travel, be stored, and be delivered for end uses (such as electricity, hydrogen, synthetic fuels, or batteries).

Primary Renewable Energy Sources

Energy sources originating from continuous natural processes: solar radiation (sunlight, wind, hydro, waves, bioenergy), radioactive decay (geothermal heat), or Earth's spin (tides).

Blue Hydrogen

Hydrogen produced from natural gas using steam methane reforming.

Green Hydrogen

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

Haber-Bosch Process

A chemical process used to synthesize ammonia ($N_2 + 3H_2 \rightarrow 2NH_3$; $\Delta H^\circ = -91.8\,kJ/mol$), primarily for producing agricultural fertilizer.

Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV)

Photovoltaic materials used to replace conventional building envelope materials (such as solar roof tiles or glass facades) while generating electricity.

LFP Battery

A lithium iron phosphate battery chemistry that contains no cobalt or nickel, commonly utilized for grid energy storage and electric vehicles.

NMC Battery

A high-energy-density lithium-ion battery chemistry incorporating nickel, manganese, and cobalt, primarily used in long-range electric vehicles.

Redox Flow Battery

An electrochemical energy storage system that stores energy in external liquid electrolyte solutions (anolyte and catholyte) pumped through a central cell stack with an ion-selective membrane.

Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES)

A grid energy storage method that uses off-peak electricity to compress air into underground geological reservoirs (such as depleted gas reservoirs) and releases it through pressure turbines during peak demand.

Heat Pump

An electrical device that transfers thermal energy rather than generating heat directly, delivering $3\text{ to }4$ units of heat per unit of electricity consumed.

High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC)

A technology used for long-distance electric power transmission and undersea cables to minimize electrical line losses.

Learning by Doing

The empirical economic phenomenon where unit production costs systematically decline as cumulative installed production capacity increases (such as in solar PV modules and lithium-ion batteries).