This perspective makes apparent the remarkable inefficiency of today's energy system: in 2023 roughly 380 exajoules, nearly two-thirds of all primary energy inputs, are wasted, and do not convert into useful energy. This has been well framed as the primary energy fallacy, and we examined it in detail at RMI. When petrol powers a car, roughly three-quarters of the energy is wasted as heat rather than motion. A coal-fired power station converts less than 30% of its fuel into final electricity, wasting the rest as heat. These losses stem from fundamental physics.
Combustion releases heat in all directions; capturing it for useful work requires additional conversion steps, each governed by thermodynamic limits.
Electrotech sidesteps this problem. An electric motor converts electricity to motion at over 90% efficiency. A heat pump supplies thermal energy at 300-400% efficiency relative to electrical energy input. LED lights powered by solar electricity lose a fraction of what gas-fired
Reframing Energy for the Age of Electricity www.electrotech-revolution.com/p/reframing-en… #energy #renewables #electroTech #electricity