Visualizing Energy Flow Data

Taking a look at the Diagram for this week assignments, there is a lot to process here. In my opinion some of it works, and some of it does not work. So let me break that down a bit further.

This diagram looks like it shows proportional flows through a system, where the width of each flow band represents the amount of energy being transferred. This way, at least to me works, because it makes it immediately clear where the largest energy flows are and helps identify the most impactful areas for potential improvements in decarbonization efforts.

While that is very impressive in its level of detail, I did find that it has some serious practical limitations. The diagram is so complex and dense with information that it requires a wall-sized display to properly understand, which somewhat defeats the original goal of helping busy policymakers quickly grasp the energy problem.

I think the data could potentially be better through similar types of visualization approaches rather than relying solely on one massive diagram. A stacked area chart could show changes in energy use over time, while a some form of a treemap could probably handle the complexity of the information without all of the clutter that makes this diagram so difficult understand.

Overall, the diagram is impressive in as a data visualization and represents countless hours of meticulous research, but I don't think it's the most practical tool in the grand scope of things. Trying to show absolutely everything at once can mean that nothing stands out clearly enough to drive the point across.

Source:
U.S. Energy Flow Super Sankey - Otherlab