Earth's energy budget
Climate Change 2021 – The Physical Science Basis, Annex VII: Glossary, written by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and published by Cambridge University Press in 2023, states:
Earth’s energy budget encompasses the major energy flows of relevance for the climate system: the top-of-atmosphere energy budget; the surface energy budget; changes in the global energy inventory and internal flows of energy within the climate system that characterize the climate state.
- Top-of-atmosphere energy budget: Comprises the energy fluxes associated with incoming solar radiation, reflected solar radiation and emitted thermal radiation. Typical units: W m^–2.
- Surface energy budget: Comprises the exchanges of heat at the surface of the Earth associated with both radiative and non-radiative processes. Typical units: W m^–2.
- Global energy inventory: Quantifies the excess energy absorbed or lost by the Earth system (ocean, land, atmosphere and cryosphere), mostly in the form of heat, associated with radiative forcing of the climate. Typical units: Joules.
- Global energy budget: For a given time period, the global energy budget expresses the balance between change in the global energy inventory, the time-integrated effective radiative forcing and time-integrated radiative response of the climate system. Typical units: Joules.
See also:
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
Featured articles and news
Places of Worship in Britain and Ireland, 1929-1990. Book review.
The emancipation of women in art.
CIOB Construction Manager of the Year 2025
Just one of the winners at the CIOB Awards 2025.
Call for independent National Grenfell oversight mechanism
MHCLG share findings of Building Safety Inquiry in letter to Secretary of State and Minister for Building Safety.
The Architectural Technology Awards
AT Awards now open for this the sixth decade of CIAT.
50th Golden anniversary ECA Edmundson awards
Deadline for submissions Friday 30 May 2025.
The benefits of precast, off-site foundation systems
Top ten benefits of this notable innovation.
Encouraging individuals to take action saving water at home, work, and in their communities.
Takes a community to support mental health and wellbeing
The why of becoming a Mental Health Instructor explained.
Mental health awareness week 13-18 May
The theme is communities, they can provide a sense of belonging, safety, support in hard times, and a sense purpose.
Mental health support on the rise but workers still struggling
CIOB Understanding Mental Health in the Built Environment 2025 shows.
Design and construction material libraries
Material, sample, product or detail libraries a key component of any architectural design practice.
Construction Products Reform Green Paper and Consultation
Still time to respond as consultation closes on 21 May 2025.
Resilient façade systems for smog reduction in Shanghai
A technical approach using computer simulation and analysis of solar radiation, wind patterns, and ventilation.
Digital technology, transformation and cybersecurity
Supporting SMEs through Digitalisation in Construction.
Villa Wolf in Gubin, history and reconstruction. Book review.
Construction contract awards down one billion pounds
Decline over the past two months compared to the same period last year, follows the positive start to the year.
Editor's broadbrush view on forms of electrical heating in context.