Energy system

An energy system is a system primarily designed to supply energy-services to end-users. Taking a structural viewpoint, the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report defines an energy system as "all components related to the production, conversion, delivery, and use of energy". The field of energy economics includes energy markets and treats an energy system as the technical and economic systems that satisfy consumer demand for energy in the forms of heat, fuels, and electricity.

The first two definitions allow for demand-side measures, including daylighting, retrofitted building insulation, and passive solar building design, as well as socio-economic factors, such as aspects of energy demand management and even telecommuting, while the third does not. Neither does the third account for the informal economy in traditional biomass that is significant in many developing countries.

The analysis of energy systems thus spans the disciplines of engineering and economics. Merging ideas from both areas to form a coherent description, particularly where macroeconomic dynamics are involved, is challenging.

The concept of an energy system is evolving as new regulations, technologies, and practices enter into service – for example, emissions trading, the development of smart grids, and the greater use of energy demand management, respectively.

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