Answered
In Energy
Why is energy transfer processes inefficient?
Energy transfer can be very efficient but there is always some heat loss. For example an electric convector in your home may appear to be 100 percent efficient, but what… about the losses in the transmission line that comes all the way from the power plant? It is always difficult to avoid some heat escaping to the environment, and this heat is usually of low quality so it is no use for any purpose, or too difficult to collect. Another example is your car, you are transferring energy from the fuel (gasoline) to provide mechanical force to propel the car. But about 60 percent of the fuel's energy of combustion is wasted through the radiator and the exhaust, so the heat transfer is only 40 percent efficient-and that is with an efficient modern engine. A modern fossil fuel power plant will achieve about the same efficiency, in this case low quality heat is rejected to the cooling water in the turbine condenser. This is not a case of engineers being profligate, these levels of efficiency have only been achieved by careful design and using the best materials available. (MORE)
