Example of Energy Conversion Efficiency
| Conversion process | Energy efficiency |
|---|---|
| Electricity generation | |
| Gas turbine | up to 40% |
| Gas turbine plus steam turbine (combined cycle) | up to 60% |
| Water turbine | up to 90% (practically achieved) |
| Wind turbine | up to 59% (theoretical limit) |
| Solar cell | 6–40% (technology dependent, 15% most often, 85–90% theoretical limit) |
| Fuel cell | up to 85% |
| World Electricity generation 2008 | Gross output 39%, Net output 33%. |
| Engine/Motor | |
| Combustion engine | 10–50% |
| Electric motors | 70–99.99% (above 200W); 50–90% (between 10–200W); 30–60% (small ones < 10W) |
| Natural process | |
| Photosynthesis | up to 6% |
| Muscle | 14–27% |
| Appliance | |
| Household refrigerators | low-end systems ~ 20%; high end systems ~ 40–50% |
| Incandescent light bulb | 0.7–5.1%, 5–10% |
| Light-emitting diode (LED) | 4.2–14.9%, up to 35% |
| Fluorescent lamps | 8.0–15.6%, 28% |
| Low-pressure sodium lamps | 15.0–29.0%, 40.5% |
| Metal halide lamps | 9.5–17.0%, 24% |
| Switched-mode power supply | currently up to 95% practically |
| Electric shower | 90–95% (overall it would be more efficient to use a heat pump, requiring less electric energy) |
| Electric heaters | ~100% (essentially all energy is converted into heat) |
| others | |
| Firearm | ~30% (.300 Hawk ammunition) |
| Electrolysis of water | 50–70% (80–94% theoretical maximum) |
Read more about this topic: Energy Conversion Efficiency
Famous quotes containing the words energy, conversion and/or efficiency:
“The persons who constitute the natural aristocracy, are not found in the actual aristocracy, or, only on its edge; as the chemical energy of the spectrum is found to be greatest just outside of the spectrum.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The conversion of a savage to Christianity is the conversion of Christianity to savagery.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
““Never hug and kiss your children! Mother love may make your children’s infancy unhappy and prevent them from pursuing a career or getting married!” That’s total hogwash, of course. But it shows on extreme example of what state-of-the-art “scientific” parenting was supposed to be in early twentieth-century America. After all, that was the heyday of efficiency experts, time-and-motion studies, and the like.”
—Lawrence Kutner (20th century)