Commercial Energy and Non-commercial Energy
(a) Commercial Energy
- The energy sources that are available in the market for a definite price are known as commercial energy.
- By far the most important forms of commercial energy are electricity, coal and refined petroleum products.
- Commercial energy forms the basis of industrial, agricultural, transport and commercial development in the modern world.
- In industrialized countries, commercialized fuels are predominant source not only for economic production, but also for many household tasks of general population.
- Examples: Electricity, lignite, coal, oil, natural gas, etc.
- The energy sources that are not available in the commercial market for a price are classified as non-commercial energy.
- Non-commercial energy sources include fuels such as firewood, cattle dung and agricultural wastes which are traditionally gathered, and not bought at a price used especially in rural households.
- These are also called traditional fuels. Non-commercial energy is often ignored in energy accounting
- Example: Firewood, agro waste in rural areas; solar energy for water heating, electricity generation for drying grain fish and fruits, animal power for transport, threshing, lifting water for irrigation, crushing sugarcane, wind energy for lifting water and electricity generation.