1.

Introduction to Energy
▪ Energy Units

▪ A Brief History of Energy

▪ Global Energy Trends: Demand, Consumption,

Generation, Trade, and Investment.

PHY 305
 Energy is defined as the capacity to do work / power to do work .
Types of energy include:
➢ Mechanical: Energy of movement (kinetic energy) and position (potential energy)
➢ Chemical: Energy stored in chemical bonds of molecules
➢ Thermal: “Heat energy” stored in materials at a certain temperature
➢ Nuclear: Energy produced from the splitting of atoms
➢ Radiant Energy: Energy traveling in the form of electromagnetic waves
➢ Electric Energy: Energy derived as a result of the movement of electrically charged particles
(i.e. electrons)
𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦
Power is the rate at which energy is transferred 𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 =
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒
per unit time
Law of Conservation of Energy: Energy cannot be created or
destroyed, only changed from one form to another.
Equation used to calculate Power:

Power (Watt) = Energy (Joule)

Time (seconds)

Keep in mind: 1 Watt = 1 Joule/ second

Equation used to calculate Energy:

Energy (Joule)= Power (Watt) x Time (seconds)

Keep in mind: 1 Joule = 1 Watt.second

 Lecture 1

PHY 305
 Energy Units

A unit is the unique name assigned to the

measure of a quantity (mass, time, length,
pressure, etc.)

PHY 305
⚫ SI units (the metric system) form the International System of Units

⚫ SI base units include

⚫ Length: Meters [m]
⚫ Time: Seconds [s]
⚫ Mass: Kilograms [Kg]

⚫ SI has many derived units, which are written in terms of base units
⚫ Joules (energy): 1 J = 1 kg m2/s2
⚫ Watts (power): 1 W = 1 J/s = 1 kg m2/s3
 General Knowledge !

How is a meter defined?

How is a second defined?

How is a kilogram defined?

▪ The lack of consistent standards of measurement hindered both commerce and science in historical times

▪ Following the French Revolution of the late 18th century, efforts arose to develop a common system of units that was both
rational and natural.

▪ The foot had been based on the length of one person’s foot and therefore wasn’t reproducible. The new distance unit, the
meter, was defined as one ten millionth (1/10,000,000) of the distance from the equator to the north pole through Paris.

▪ The gram, the unit of mass, was defined as the mass of one cubic centimeter of water.

▪ Those 18th century unit has evolved into our modern SI system
 General Knowledge !
Distance
⚫ Needs for accuracy in science have driven changes in the standards for units
⚫ In the past, 1 meter has been defined by:
1. One ten-millionth of the distance from the North pole to the equator (1798)
2. A platinum-iridium standard meter bar kept in France (1889)
3. Is the length equal to 1,650,763.73 wavelengths of light from
a specified transition in Krypton – 86 (Kr-86)(1960)

⚫ In each transition, the new distance was chosen so that the approximate
length of 1 meter was preserved
 General Knowledge !
Platinum-iridium
 General Knowledge !
Time
Standards of time in the past have included:
1. Rotation of Earth (position of the sun)
2. Quartz vibrations ( when an electric current passes through quartz, it vibrates
32,768 times/second)
3. Atomic clocks (caesium), with time signals sent out by radio so others can
calibrate their clocks

In other words, The International System of Units (SI) defines the second as the time it takes a
caesium-133 atom to oscillate exactly:
9 billion, 192 million, 631 thousand, 770 times.
 General Knowledge !
Mass

⚫ The standard kilogram is a cylinder of platinum and iridium

stored in France.
⚫ Accurate copies have been sent around the world, other
masses can be measured by comparing them against these
copies
▪ The United States today consumes approximately 100 exajoules (or quads) of energy
per year, and world consumption is about 425 exajoules (quads) annually.

▪ When large power units are required, we can use multipliers, such as kilo-(thousand),
mega- (million), and giga-(billion). For example, a modern nuclear power plant’s
electricity production rate is 1,000 megawatts (MW) or 1 gigawatt (GW).
 Energy Units
▪ The SI unit of energy/work is the joule (J), named for English physicist James
Prescott Joule (1818 - 1889)

▪ Sometimes it is useful to use a hybrid energy unit, such as the watt-hour (Wh);
remember, energy is power multiplied by time.

▪ Electrical energy is usually expressed and sold in kilowatthours (kWh, or 1,000

Wh). This unit of energy is 1,000 W applied for 1 hour (3,600 seconds), the
equivalent energy of 3,600,000 J (3.6 MJ).

British imperial / US customary units

The British imperial units and U.S. customary units for both energy and work
include the foot-pound force (1.3558 J), the British thermal unit (BTU) which
has various values in the region of 1055 J, the horsepower-hour (2.6845 MJ),
and the gasoline gallon equivalent (about 120 MJ).
▪ Food industry: Energy in food is
measured in Calories (also known as
kilocalories)

1 Cal = 1 kcal = 1000 cal

1 calorie = 4.184 J

▪ In economics we usually use the BTU

(british thermal unit). It’s the energy
required to heat up one pound of liquid
water by one degree Fahrenheit. (1 BTU
= 1055 J)

▪ For explosive events that release a lot

more energy, we use the Ton of TNT
(tTNT) which amounts to approximately
4.2 GJ.
Natural gas Industry: Natural gas is often sold in
units of energy content or by volume. Common units Conversion
for selling by energy content are joules or therms. 1 boe 6.12 ×109 J
Common units for selling by volume are cubic metre or 1 BTU 1.0545 ×103 J
cubic feet. 1 eV 1.602 ×10−19 J
1 quad 1015 BTU
Oil Industry: The barrel of oil equivalent (boe) is a unit
1 therm 105.5 ×106 J
of energy based on the approximate energy released
by burning one barrel (42 US gallons or 158.9873 1 tce 29.288×109 J
litres) of crude oil. The tonne of oil equivalent (toe) is a 1 toe 4.187 ×1010 J
unit of energy defined as the amount of energy 1 Wh 3.6×103 J
released by burning one tonne of crude oil. tTNT 4.2×109 J
1 cal 4.184 J
Coal Industry: A tonne of coal equivalent (tce) is a 1 Cal 4184 J
unit of energy based on the amount of energy released 1 hp.h 2.68×106 J
by burning one tonne of coal. (horsepower-hour)
https://youtu.be/KljMQq4H7-Q
 Electricity Bill

PHY 305
▪ An energy meter is a device that
measures the amount of electric
energy consumed by a
residence, a business, or an
electrically powered device.

▪ The number that the meter

displays is the cumulative
number of kilowatts-hours
consumed from the date of
installation of the counter.

▪ The mechanical type has a

metallic wheel which keeps on
rotating as long as the
subscriber consumes energy.
POWER USE OF TYPICAL HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES IN WATTS (W)

▪ You can use this formula below to estimate an

appliance’s energy use:

Wattage x Hours Used Per Day / 1000 = Daily Kilowatt-

hour (kWh) consumption.

Multiply by the number of days you use a particular

appliance during the year for the annual energy
consumption.

(remember 1kW = 1,000 watts, which is why we divide by 1,000)

▪ You can calculate the annual cost to run an appliance

by multiplying the kWh per year by your local utility’s
Note: To estimate the number of rate per kWh consumed.
hours that a refrigerator actually
operates at its maximum wattage,
divide the total time the ▪ Example: Personal Computer and Monitor:
refrigerator is plugged in by three. ▪ (120 +150 Watts) x 4 hours/day x 365 days/year) / 1000
Refrigerators, although turned = 394 kWh x 11 cents/kWh = (approx national average)
“on” all the time, cycle on and off
as needed to maintain interior
$43.34/year
temperatures.

Source: U.S. Department of Energy.