thermal efficiency
Energy output ratio
Thermal efficiency measures how well a system converts heat energy into useful work, expressed as a percentage.
A car engine with 25% thermal efficiency turns a quarter of its fuel's energy into motion; the rest escapes as waste heat.
The term appears in discussions of engines, power plants, and heating systems: Engineers improved the turbine's thermal efficiency to 60%.
Movement of thermal energy
- entropyQuantified chaos in systems
- enthalpyThermodynamic total heat quantity
- specific heatEnergy needed per degree
- conductionHeat transfer through contact
convection · radiation · isothermal · latent heat · heat loss · steady-state · heat capacity
Heat-powered piston mechanism
- regenerationBiological self-repair process
- compression ratioComparison of original to reduced
- heat sourceOrigin of thermal energy
- heat sinkDevice absorbing component warmth
Measuring heat in reactions
- BTUHeat measurement abbreviation
- jouleSI energy quantity
- kilowatt-hourUnit measuring electrical consumption
- calorieUnit of thermal energy
therm · megajoule · thermometer · pyrometer · calorimeter · energy audit
Water-heating vessel
- furnaceEnclosed heat-producing structure
- heat exchangerTransfers thermal energy between media
- condenserDevice that liquefies gases
- economizerEnergy-saving apparatus
heat pump · refrigerator · turbine · combustion chamber · insulation · preheater · superheater · steam generator
Reduced power consumption
- waste reductionDecreasing material for disposal
- process improvementEnhancing operational efficiency systematically
- weatherizationSealing a building's envelope
- R-valueInsulation effectiveness measure
U-value · retrofit · upgrade · energy audit
heat transfer
Movement of thermal energy
- entropyQuantified chaos in systems
- enthalpyThermodynamic total heat quantity
- specific heatEnergy needed per degree
conduction · convection · radiation · isothermal · latent heat · heat loss · steady-state · heat capacity
Stirling engine
Heat-powered piston mechanism
- regenerationBiological self-repair process
- compression ratioComparison of original to reduced
- heat sourceOrigin of thermal energy
heat sink · reversibility · cogeneration · reheat · intercooling
calorimetry
Measuring heat in reactions
- BTUHeat measurement abbreviation
- jouleSI energy quantity
- kilowatt-hourUnit measuring electrical consumption
calorie · therm · megajoule · thermometer · pyrometer · calorimeter · energy audit
boiler
Water-heating vessel
- furnaceEnclosed heat-producing structure
- heat exchangerTransfers thermal energy between media
- condenserDevice that liquefies gases
economizer · heat pump · refrigerator · turbine · combustion chamber · insulation · preheater · superheater · steam generator · cooling tower
energy savings
Reduced power consumption
- waste reductionDecreasing material for disposal
- process improvementEnhancing operational efficiency systematically
- weatherizationSealing a building's envelope
R-value · U-value · retrofit · upgrade · energy audit
thermal efficiencyinefficiency
Suboptimal use of resources
wastefulness · unproductiveness · profligacy · idleness · extravagance
efficiency, thermal, inefficient, efficiently, inefficiency, efficacious, efficiencies, thermals, inefficacy