Another View of Statewide Energy Flows in New Hampshire

In this post I want to look at New Hampshire energy flows in a different way, without resorting, as I have in previous posts, to column charts and criss-crossing cobwebs of arrows. Instead, I would like to introduce the concept of Sankey, or flow, diagrams which are often used in the energy industry. In these diagrams the magnitude of the flow of energy is indicated by the width of the arrow. These diagrams were first used in the energy field by an Irish engineer and captain in the British army, Matthew Henry Phineas Riall Sankey in 1898 to illustrate energy flows in steam engines. A modern version of a Sankey diagram is shown in the next figure. This figure neatly shows how input energy into a steam engine is lost to smoke, friction and a large portion to the steam condensation step. The condensed water is then recirculated to be heated into steam again, hence the small recirculating flow. Useful energy as forward motion of the steam engine and a small amount going to the alternators is shown as the exiting blue flows.

The great thing about Sankey diagrams is that they are not restricted to only energy flows. They can be applied to quantities of many types. For example, material and cost flows are often depicted. One of the most famous of these flow diagrams is that prepared by the French engineer George Charles Minard in 1869, shown below. This figure illustrates the fate of Napoleon's army in 1812 -1813 as they progressed through their disastrous Russian invasion. The figure shows, by the width of the lines, the fate of the invading army. Napoleon crossed into Russian with 422,000 men and through attrition, minor skirmishes and some great battles he entered a largely abandoned Moscow with about 100,000 men under his command. He then turned back to return to France: on the way back, starvation, battles and incessant harassment by guerilla forces decimated his army to 10,000 survivors. The harsh winter also took its toll on his men - the line graph below the flow diagram shows the decreasing temperatures encountered on the army's return from Moscow. The diminishing width of the flow is a skillful, albeit rather harrowing, representation of what was happening in the army in the field, the prisoners that were taken and the lives that were lost.

But I digress. Let's return to energy flows. The folks at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) annually prepare flow diagrams for the total flow of energy in the US. These diagrams are particularly useful and informative and they appear in energy-related presentations all over the place. In 2011 LLNL prepared individual diagrams for all 50 states based on 2008 data. To the best of my knowledge, they don't update these state diagrams every year like their total US flow diagram. Nevertheless I thought I would share their 2008 diagram for New Hampshire, shown below, with you.

 

Much of this figure shows the same information as my previous analysis, but it does so in a more elegant fashion. Off to the left, you can see the energy inputs to the state. These input energies then flow into transportation, homes, offices, stores and industry and a large part of the flow goes into electricity generation. The width of the lines clearly shows the magnitude of the flows. As with my analysis, it can be seen that electricity produces a lot of waste heat and a relatively small portion, 32% according to LLNL, ends up in electricity that is directed to homes, businesses, factories or exported out of state.

What this diagram includes, which my previous analysis did not, is the recognition that a large fraction of the energy that goes into transportation is lost as waste heat rather than motion. According to the LLNL estimates, only 25% goes into motion. They also recognized that a lot of the heat that goes into warming our homes, businesses and factories is lost due to poor insulation, waste and equipment inefficiencies. Their numbers suggest that 35% of the input energy into homes is lost. For commercial operations they estimate 30% of the energy is lost and losses of 20% are encountered in industrial applications. The diagram then neatly combines all the separate waste energy flows into a single value at the right of the diagram which illustrates the rather sobering fact - that, of the 418 trillion BTU energy supply to NH, 270 trillion BTU, or 65%, is lost as waste heat!

While not as dramatic as the fate of Napoleon's army, this single sobering fact that 65% of our energy input is lost provides the best opportunity for managing our energy needs going forward. Investments in higher efficiency equipment, higher mile-per-gallon vehicles and better insulation for our buildings will all serve to reduce the amount of energy wasted. This will reduce our input requirements. Energy supplies, especially those associated with fossil fuels, can be reduced and better managed. In the process we will reduce our carbon emissions as well.

In many respects, this is the most single beneficial thing that you and I can do at present – we can and we must reduce the amount of energy we waste. Yes, alternative energy sources are necessary but, while we are waiting for scientific breakthroughs and large-scale commercial development, we can be taking measures right now to reduce our energy consumption. We as individuals can take action and we can organize to get the organizations we work for to take action. There is lots of help out there. Many companies and non-profits are working in this field and they are making a difference. For example, here in New Hampshire the very focused mission of the Jordan Institute is to reduce energy losses from buildings in the State. They are doing some impressive things to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Take a look at their website if you get an opportunity.

We also need to be realistic about these losses. Yes, they are large, but we will never be able to totally eliminate them due to the nature of energy, materials, electricity and the laws of physics. Even so, we are so far away from these physical limits that there is a lot we can do to reduce energy waste.

So there you have it – another way to look at energy flows in the state. Bear in mind that this analysis uses 2008 figures from the Energy Information Administration and does not reflect the rapid switch away from coal that we are presently undergoing. I plan to present an update of the energy flow diagram for NH in a future post but, in the meantime, hopefully I have got you thinking about what you can do avoid energy losses in your home and the building you work in.

Until next time, remember to turn off those lights when you leave the room.

Mike Mooiman

Franklin Pierce University

mooimanm@franklinpierce.edu

1/20/2013

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