The aims, methods and uses of energy accounting

Abstract

The paper begins by stating the value of energy accounting and defining the subject. The aims of energy accounting are then listed and discussed. The three basic methods of energy accounting are currently input/output table analysis, statistical analysis and process analysis. In turn, these are briefly described and then illustrated by some recent examples of their application. The use of input/output table analysis to explore the effect of rising energy costs on industrial prices is described; this was an important input to the 1974 National Economic Development Office report on energy. This is followed by a discussion of how and when a knowledge of the energy intensity of capital goods can be used to assess energy pay-back times and energy gain ratios in considering possible new sources of energy. The statistical method is illustrated first by referring to the estimation of energy overheads for the various fuel industries and, secondly, by showing the very detailed energy inputs which have to be accounted in determining the average energy requirement of a typical industrial commodity, viz. iron castings. Finally, the method of process energy analysis, as advocated by the International Federation of Institutes of Advanced Study (IFIAS), is briefly described and its application to a study of the iron casting industry by ETSU referred to.