Sankey Diagrams

Sankey Diagram for a filament

bulb 9J
wasted
energy
out
10 J
energy in
1 J
useful
energy
out
Sankey Diagram for a filament
bulb 9J
wasted
energy
out
10 J
energy in
1 J
useful
energy
6J
Sankey Diagram for an energy out
wasted
efficient bulb
energy
out

10 J 4J
energy in
useful
energy
out
 Why are they called Sankey Diagrams?

Captain Matthew Henry Phineas Riall

Sankey was an engineer.

In 1898 he was the first person to publish

a diagram that used the width of an arrow
to show the size of the energy flow.

The first ever Sankey diagram shows the

energy flow in a real steam engine
compared with a ‘perfect’ engine.

Sankey diagrams are so useful that you

can buy computer programs to draw them!
Captain Henry Sankey (1853 – 1925)