SECOND-LAW EFFICIENCY

We defined the thermal efficiency and the coefficient of performance for devices as a measure of their
performance. They are defined on the basis of the first law only, and they are sometimes referred to as the first-
law efficiencies.

Two heat engines that have the same

thermal efficiency, but different
maximum thermal efficiencies.
we define a second-law efficiency as the ratio of the actual thermal efficiency to the maximum possible
(reversible) thermal efficiency under the same conditions
The second-law efficiency is intended to serve as a measure of approximation to reversible operation,
and thus its value should range from zero in the worst case (complete destruction of exergy) to one in
the best case (no destruction of exergy). With this in mind, we define the second-law efficiency of a
system during a process

Therefore, when determining the second-law efficiency, the first thing we need to do is determine how
much exergy or work potential is consumed during a process. In a reversible operation, we should be
able to recover entirely the exergy supplied during the process, and the irreversibility in this case
should be zero. The second-law efficiency is zero when we recover none of the exergy supplied to the
system. Note that the exergy can be supplied or recovered at various amounts in various forms such as
heat, work, kinetic energy, potential energy, internal energy, and enthalpy.
EXAMPLE

A dealer advertises that he has just received a shipment of electric resistance heaters for residential
buildings that have an efficiency of 100 percent. Assuming an indoor temperature of 21°C and outdoor
temperature of 10°C, determine the second-law efficiency of these heaters.