CHAPTER 2

Energy
Fundamentals
for Energy Auditors
What is Energy?

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 Energy Lets Us Do Work
• Energy is the ability to do work.
• As such, energy is important to all living things in
order to maintain life functions from the smallest
part of a cell to the organism as a whole.
Humans also use energy to modify their
environment and perform work.
• Energy is measured by the amount of work it is
able to do. The units for measuring energy are
Joules (J).
• One Joule is a very small amount of energy,
but 1000 Joules is roughly the heat energy
produced by burning a blue tip kitchen match. 3
 Sources of Our Energy
• The energy sources that we use every day are
divided into two groups:
– Renewable – an energy source that we can
use over and over again, and can be replaced
naturally in a short period of time.
– Non-renewable – an energy source that we
are using up and cannot recreate in a short
period of time.

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 Sources of Our Energy
• The renewable energy sources
include solar energy, which comes
from the sun and can be turned
into electricity and heat. Wind,
geothermal energy from inside the
earth, biomass from plants, and
hydropower from water are also
renewable energy sources. 5
 What Is Power?
• Work can be done at different rates,
sometimes slow, sometimes fast. Since
work involves the transformation of
energy, the faster the work is done, the
quicker energy must be transformed.
• Power is the term used for the measure of
how fast work can be done. Or in other
terms, power is defined as the rate at
which work is done.
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 What Is Power?
• In mathematical terms power equals work done
divided by time required, so the units of power
would be Joules per unit time, most commonly
Joules per second, or watts:
Work Done
Power =
Time Required

• Power is an important concept because it ties

the dimension of time into the energy picture.

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• Almost all mechanical and electrical
equipment have nameplate ratings in
terms of the maximum power that they
can supply, not the energy they can
supply.
• As we will see later, almost all
mechanical devices like motors are rated
in terms of their maximum power output,
while almost all purely electrical devices
are rated in terms of their maximum
power input.
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• Energy and power are often confused
with each other.
• A useful analogy can be found in our
car where we have both the
speedometer that tells us how fast we
are going in kmph, and we also have
an odometer which tells us how far
we’ve gone in km.
KMPH

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 – The odometer is like an energy
meter that tells us the total KMPH

amount of energy in Joules

that we’ve used.
– The speedometer is like a power
meter that tells us the rate at which
we have used that amount of energy in
Joules per second, or watts.
• With our car, the quantities of interest
are km and kmph. With our electrical
and mechanical equipment, the
quantities of interest are Joules and
Joules per second, or watts. 10
 Electrical Power
• When dealing with electricity, power is
defined in the same way.
• Electrical devices provide resistance which
describes the amount of work that needs to
be done for a specific task.
– A certain amount of work must be done to
move electrons through the resistance.
– More resistance means more work must
be done to move electrons through the
resistance and allow the device to
operate.
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 Electrical Power
• The rate which that work is accomplished is
related to the power applied. More electrical
power means energy is being converted at a
faster rate.
• This electrical energy is supplied by the source
of the electrical current like a battery or electrical
generator.
1 watt = 1 Joule/second

• Electrical power is measured in units called

watts, which are related to the number of Joules
of energy expended per second. 12
• This means the energy can be expended at
different rates depending on how fast the
work needs to be done.
• Some devices use more power to
accomplish a task that others do with much
less power.
• For example light bulbs come in different
sizes – meaning different wattages. Some
light bulbs are rated 60 watts while others
are rated 100 watts. The 100 watt bulb will
give off more light than the 60 watt bulb but
if you only need the amount of light from the
60 watt light bulb, you are using more power
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than necessary.
 Units of Electrical Energy
• The watt (W) is a physical unit which is
named for James Watt, the inventor of
the steam engine. Since the unit refers to a person’s
name, we abbreviate it with a capital W.
• The basic unit of electrical energy is the watt-hour, or
Wh.
1 Wh = 3600 Joules
1 kWh = 1000 Wh = 3600000 Joules = 3.6 MJ
1 MWh = 1000 kWh
1 GWh = 1000 MWh

1 kW = 1000 W
1 MW = 1000 kW 14
 One barrel of oil produces
about 550 kWh in a thermal
power plant

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One kg of coal produces about
2 kWh

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 deg
ree
s Cel
siu
s

Energy Units And

Energy Conversions

min
utes
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 Energy Units And Energy
Conversions
• The basic unit of energy is the Joule (J)
• One thousand Joules is about equal to the
heat produced by burning an ordinary
blue-tip, kitchen match.
• One Joule is not a very large amount of
energy, so you will often see one of two
common multipliers of Joules; the kJ, or one
thousand Joules; or the MJ, which is 1000
kJ, or one million Joules. For even larger
amounts of energy, the GJ = 1000 MJ.
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 Word and Numerical
Equivalents

• One J = 1 J.
• One thousand J = 1000 J = 103 J = 1 kJ
• One million J= 1,000,000 J = 106 J = 1 MJ
• One billion J = 1,000,000,000 = 109J = 1 GJ

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 Energy Conversion Unit Table
1 kWh ………………………………………….. 3.6 MJ
1 m3 LPG……….…………………………….25.56 GJ
1 kg #2 fuel oil …………………………….… 43.3 MJ
1 m3 natural gas………………………….……. 37 MJ
1 m3 #2 fuel oil ………………………………39.85 GJ
1 litre LPG gas ……………………………... 7.1 kWh
1 kg LPG gas………………………………12.68 kWh
1 litre #2 fuel oil……………………………11.07 kWh
1 kg #2 fuel oil……………………………..12.03 kWh

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 Energy Unit Conversions and
the Railroad Track Method
• Since we have several different basic energy units
and many different energy unit multipliers, energy
managers must often convert from one set of energy
units to another. There is a very systematic
approach that can be applied to basic conversions,
and also to more complex conversions and
calculations.
• The principle of this unit conversion method is simply
to carry out algebraically correct multiplications and
divisions using correct units at each step, starting
with the given piece of information and transforming
it into the desired units using one or more conversion
factors. 21
• For example, if we want to find the number
(X) of Joules in 1000 cubic metres of natural
gas, we can use this method as follows:
1000 m3 37,000 kJ From Table C-20
X GJ of gas =
m3
1000 m3 37,000 kJ
=
m3

= 1000 × 37,000 kJ
= 37,000,000 kJ
= 37 × 109 J

= 37 GJ 22
• In the above calculation, cubic metres
in the numerator and cubic metres in
the denominator cancel out, and the
remaining unit on the right side of the
equation is J.
• Our goal was to end up with J as our
desired unit on the right, and we made
our unit conversions on the right side
until we had the same unit as on the
left side.

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• If we ever perform one of these basic
unit conversion calculations, and find
that we have different units on the left
and the right – we do not have the
correct answer in terms of the desired
units.
• This method is given the colloquial
name Railroad Track Method, because
the vertical separation lines remind us
of railroad tracks.

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 Example Problem
Find the number (X) of kWh in 1000 cubic
metres of natural gas.
From Table C-20
1000 m3 37,000 kJ 1 kWh
X kWh of gas =
m3 3600 kJ
1000 m3 37,000 kJ 1 kWh
=
m3 kJ 3600

= 1000 × 37,000 kWh/3600

= 10,278 kWh
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 Example Problem
How many J are in 10 kWh?

Solution

XJ = 10 kWh 3.6 MJ
kWh

= 36 MJ

In this example, the two kWh units

cancel out, leaving the remaining unit
on the right side as J.

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 Example Problem

How many kWh are in 2500 mJ?

Solution:
2500 MJ 3.6 kWh
X kWh =
MJ
= 694.44 kWh

In this example, the two MJ units

cancel out, leaving the remaining unit
on the right side as kWh.
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 Example Problem
• A tank is filled with 100 litres of Number 2 fuel
oil. How many GJ of energy is contained in the
tank of oil?
Solution
• From Table C-20, there are 39 MJ per litre of oil.

100 L 39 MJ 1 GJ
X GJ =
1 L 1000 MJ
= 3.9 GJ
• In this example, the two litre units cancel out, and the
two MJ units cancel out, leaving the remaining unit on
the right side as GJ, our desired unit.
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 Example Problem
• A tank is filled with 100 litres of Number 2 fuel
oil. How many kWh of energy is contained in
the tank of oil?
Solution
• From Table C-20, there are 39 MJ per litre of oil.
100 L 39 MJ 1 kWh
X kWh =
1 L 3.6 MJ
= 1083.3 kWh
• In this example, the two litre units cancel out, and the
two MJ units cancel out, leaving the remaining unit on
the right side as kWh, our desired unit.

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 Benchmarking
A benchmark is a value you
compare something against.

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 Energy Benchmarking for
Buildings
• Building energy benchmarking is the
comparison of whole-building energy use
relative to a set of similar buildings.
• It provides a useful starting point for individual
energy audits and for targeting buildings for
energy-saving measures in multiple-site audits.
• Benchmarking is of interest and practical use to
a number of groups.
– Energy service companies and performance
contractors communicate energy savings
potential with “typical” and “best-practice”
benchmarks. 31
• Control companies and utilities can provide
direct tracking of energy use and combine
data from multiple buildings for
benchmarking.
• Benchmarking is also useful in the design
stage of a new building or retrofit to
determine if a design is relatively efficient.
• Energy managers and building owners have
an ongoing interest in comparing energy
performance to others.
• Large corporations, schools, and
government agencies with numerous
facilities also use benchmarking methods to
compare their buildings to each other.
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 Benchmarking Audit
• Benchmarking Audits are associated with
the idea that after the energy bill data is
collected and processed, some facility
information will be collected on a walk-
through, and the data will be run through
some benchmark to determine if there is a
potential for significant improvement in
energy efficiency and reduction in energy
operating cost.

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 Benchmarking Criteria
• Energy Use Index - MJ/m2/year, kWh/m2/year
– Total, Electric, Gas, Oil
• Energy Cost Index - $/m2/year
– Total, Electric, Gas, Oil
• Productivity Index
– kJ/kg, kJ/person, kJ/student, kJ/tonne, kJ/item
– kWh/kg, kWh/person/ kWh/tonne, kWh/item
– L H2O/kg, or /student, or /item (also sewer)
• System performances
– kWe/kW cooling, LPS/kW air, kWh/L pumping

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 Basic Energy Accounting
• Basic energy accounting deals with the
following ideas:
• Recognizing different energy and fuel types
– Electricity, gas, light oil, steam, chilled water
• Understanding energy related units
– kWh, kJ, MJ, kW, kJ/h, L or kg of oil, m3 of
gas
• Performing conversions to different energy
related units
– For example, 1 kWh = 3600 kJ = 3.6 MJ
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The Facility Energy Use Index
• The facility Energy Use Index (EUI) is a
statement of the number of MJs (or kWh) of
energy used annually per square metre of
conditioned space (heated or cooled, or both).
It is a basic measure of the facility’s energy
performance – the lower, the better.
• To compute a facility’s EUI –
– Identify all the energy used in the facility
– Add up all the MJs (or kWh) of energy
– Find the total square metres of conditioned space
– Divide the total MJ (or kWh) used per year by the
square metres of space.
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 Example
A facility with 1,000 square metres of
conditioned space uses 100 GJ of
gas and 150,000 kWh of electrical
energy in one year. What is the
facility’s EUI?

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 Solution (in MJ/m2•yr)

100 GJ 1000 MJ
MJgas = = 100,000 MJ / yr
yr GJ

150,000 kWh 3.6 MJ

MJelect = = 540,000 MJ / yr
yr kWh

(100,000 + 540,000) MJ
EUI = = 640 MJ / m2 • yr
1,000 m2 yr

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Solution (in kWh/m2•yr)

640 MJ 1 kWh
EUI = 2
m • yr 3.6 MJ
= 177.8 kWh / m2 • yr

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 1999 CBECS EUI Data - USA
kWh/m2/yr
All Bldgs 236
Education 208 Vacant 44.5
Food Sales 561 Food Service 669
Health Care 490 Lodging 278
Retail Stores 200 Office 251
Assembly 228 Safety 242
Churches 88.9 Service 346
Warehouse 122 Other 400

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 0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700

All Bldgs
Education
Food Sales
Food Serv
Health
Lodging
Retail
Office
Assembly
Safety
Churches
kWh/sq metre/yr

Service
Warehouse
Other
Vacant
Energy Use Index for Commercial Buildings

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