The importance of the goal of developing systems that effectively use
nonrenewable energy resources such as oil natural gas, and coal is app
arent. The method of exergy analysis is well suited for furthering thi
s goal, for it enables the location, type and true magnitude of waste
and loss to be determined. Such information can be used to design new
systems and to reduce the inefficiency of existing systems. This paper
provides a brief survey of both exergy principles and the current lit
erature of exergy analysis with emphasis on areas of application.