Brockway, PE orcid.org/0000-0001-6925-8040, Barrett, JR orcid.org/0000-0002-4285-6849, Foxon, TJ et al. (1 more author) (2014) Divergence of Trends in US and UK Aggregate Exergy Efficiencies 1960–2010. Environmental Science & Technology, 48 (16). pp. 9874-9881. ISSN 0013-936X
Abstract
National exergy efficiency analysis relates the quality of primary energy inputs to an economy with end useful work in sectoral energy uses such as transport, heat and electrical devices. This approach has been used by a range of authors to explore insights to macroscale energy systems and linkages with economic growth. However, these analyses use a variety of calculation methods with sometimes coarse assumptions, inhibiting comparisons. Therefore, building on previous studies, this paper first contributes toward a common useful work accounting framework, by developing more refined methodological techniques for electricity end use and transport exergy efficiencies. Second, to test this more consistent and granular approach, these advances are applied to the US and UK for 1960 to 2010. The results reveal divergent aggregate exergy efficiencies: US efficiency remains stable at around 11%, while UK efficiency rises from 9% to 15%. The US efficiency stagnation is due to "efficiency dilution", where structural shifts to lower efficiency consumption (e.g., air-conditioning) outweigh device-level efficiency gains. The results demonstrate this is an important area of research, with consequent implications for national energy efficiency policies.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2014 American Chemical Society. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | Electricity; Energy-Generating Resources; Gasoline; Great Britain; Heating; United States |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 18 Sep 2014 10:39 |
Last Modified: | 29 Oct 2020 13:24 |
Published Version: | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25058343 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | American Chemical Society |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1021/es501217t |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:80278 |
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