The Special Role Of Electricity

Electricity is an energy form, not energy source. It can be produced from any of the principal energy source, transmitted and spread with associative ease, and transformed into helpful heat, work, or light, at any end-use point. However it can be stored in small amounts by electrochemical re-conversions, it can’t as still be stored as electricity in any considerable quantities. Except from this (important) drawback, it is the perfect energy mediator. It is quite un-substitutable for numerous specific end-uses: for illustration, TV, fluorescent, telephone, and incandescent lighting, computers, and so on.

Perhaps, one of the most significant benefits of electricity is that it has the maximum potential for allowing efficient conversion of energy resources into end-use functions. In space and water heating, direct use of fossil fuels and solar energy compete, though even here since of its easiness of control and flexible position, electricity is frequently preferred. Nonetheless, from a thermodynamic viewpoint, this use of electricity for low-quality energy demands by means of a high-quality energy resource. We must match not only the quantities of energy demand & supply, though also their qualities; for illustration, by using waste heat or solar energy.