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Sankey Visualization
After examining the website on our Energy System by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, there is one main conclusion to be drawn: the energy system is very complex and there is a lot of data to unpack from it. The website attempts to do its best to explain energy usage and statistics through the use of a Sankey visualization, however without actually clicking on any data or the specifics, it appears very overwhelming to even look at. For instance, when you look at the section/visualization that focuses strictly on the MD, OH, PA, WV Region and do not click on the energy type (solar, nuclear, hydro, etc…) the visualization shows hardly any data that is clearly understandable and interpretable. The image shown below is what this visualization looks like without using the interactive feature.
As you can see, the numbers are all over the place and hard to follow due to all of the “lines” and colors surrounding it. When you actually click on an energy source, however, the numbers, color, and “line” are singled out with more data and information that is more understandable. The image below is taken from the National energy system but is clicked to focus on the natural gas section of it. Here, the numbers are more directly highlighted, and an explanation is given and broken down in a way that is easier to understand. You can tell that 27.52 is the total energy in natural gas and the smaller numbers are where the energy is actually broken down.
Despite this being a more clarified version of the Sankey visualization, I am not entirely sure that this was the best way to display the information. I feel that the website has too much information that they want to share and not enough innovative ways to share it, that the information becomes too overwhelming to look at in any section, not just the Sankey visualization. The entire website is very text heavy with a few visualizations thrown in between (including the Sankey visualization) and the visualizations end up having too much data because there are so few of them. For instance, even the pie chart featured below looks very overwhelming due to the amount of information and colors being packed into it. To add to this, there is also too much going on in the side legends of the website with the quizzes, polls, links, etc.. that your eyes are not truly able to focus on everything and take it all in.
In all, the Sankey visualization is a unique way to display information when done correctly. While this website tried its best to make it interactive and comprehensive, there was simply too much data and information in each that it became a little overwhelming until a specific part was highlighted. A simple flow chart may have been easier to read, but then again there was just too much information and text to fully know and understand.
Sankey Diagram
The Sankey Diagram originated in 1898 to show the energy efficiency of a steam engine. This makes it the perfect choice of visualization to depict the efficiency and usage of our energy systems in the United States. I appreciate that the diagrams show how different states aggregate their energy to show that the United States is not a monolith in energy production and consumption. Our energy use is nuanced and these diagrams show that our energy production and usage is very inefficient. This first screenshot shows the amount of energy that solar contributes to our total power usage. It is very low at 0.23%. I was actually shocked that less than ¼ of a percent of our energy is produced by solar. When you click on solar it also shows that most of our solar usage is going directly to residential homes and very little is going into the grid.
The second screenshot shows the MD/OH/PA/WV region, who are major exporters of coal energy. The diagram shows that the region has much lower energy efficiency than the nation due to the use of coal. 73% of energy is unused in this region because the region is heavily reliant on the coal, biomass, and oil.
The last slide shows energy production and import in California. California is one of the most energy efficient states in the country and this diagram shows why. The top 6 sources of energy listed: solar, nuclear, hydro, wind, geothermal, and natural gas are much more efficient than the bottom three. This results in 41% of California’s energy produced being usable.
I would say that this is one of the best use cases for a Sankey Diagram. It allows the user to easily follow the flow of information (energy) and understand more about the topic than many other types of charts. All of the relevant information was able to captured in three different versions of the same diagram, so when users move on to the second and third charts they are expert users and it makes analysis more streamlined. This was a great way to show inefficiencies and areas of opportunity in a simple and easy to understand way. My mind works in percentages so the only thing I would have done differently is include percentages in the useful and unused energy labels or tooltips. Lastly, the only thing that I don’t really like about this Sankey Diagram is that all of the numbers are not visible without clicking around. Many people prefer to be able to see all of the information and just be able to explore visually without interaction.
Sankey Visualizations
A Sankey Diagram is a visualization that Is used to depict a flow from one set of values to another. They help locate the most important contributions to a flow. Sankey visualizations are best used when the topic is energy, time, or money.
Although there is a ton of information presented in this visualization and it seems cluttered, I think this is the most effective way to view this data. This visualization is super effective considering that there are so many different aspects on this chart that are combined into one piece. Firstly, the energy system is broken down into the types of energy on the left hand side. The visualization allows you to click on each tab. When you click on each type of energy, it shows you what percentage of energy is expended and where it goes. For example, when you click on solar energy it shows you that solar energy accounts for 0.42% of all energy expended, and that 0.17% goes to electricity, and 0.25% goes to residential use. The infographic then breaks it down even more. It shows the amount of energy that is unused, and used from each category (electricity, residential, commercial, industrial, transportation). The thickness of the flow indicates the amount of energy. For example, you can see that most of the energy from transportation is unused because a larger flow moves from transportation to unused energy. All in all, there is so much information that can be digested from this visualization. It appears to be a lot, but when you break it down into pieces it is very effective. I believe this is the best way to display this information.
Sankey Visualization
By Nick Ligameri
According to www.ifu.com, a Sankey diagram is a “specific type of flow diagram used for visualization of material, cost or energy flows. They show energy or mass flows with arrows proportional to the flow quantity. They have directed arrows featuring flows in a process, production system or supply chain.” Given this definition, it is easy to understand why this visualization was chosen to represent the flow of energy within our country.
The above Sankey visualization does a wonderful job at taking a complex dataset and showing not only how much of each resource is used, but where it is used. At a glance, the visualization does seem a bit messy, but I like to think of it as organized chaos. What I like about this is that you can quickly see what resource we utilize the most and, more importantly, what industries have the most waste.
In the above image, you can see that the most waste is generated from electricity and the transportation industry. When you click on the Unused Energy button, it explains that the waste comes in the form of heat that is generated when converting energy into a different form of energy. It is striking that we produce more wasted energy than we consume. From this diagram, you can quickly determine the need to produce a more efficient energy source.
This website also shows two different energy systems besides the national system. My immediate thought was to compare these two systems. To do that, I had to click back and forth between each page. I think this tool would be even more powerful if the author could have provided an easier way to compare the two. This is even more important considering that California consumes roughly three times more energy than Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia combined. I would want to highlight this somehow, possibly with some variation of a column or bar chart.
Overall, I feel this Sankey visualization does an effective job of communicating a complex story in a relatively simple way. The user interactions feel intuitive and lead the viewer along. This type of visualization seems like it would be difficult to learn how to build, but completely worth the effort.
SANKEY VISUALIZATIONS.
Sankey Diagram is a visualization technique that allows the display of flows. Many experts argue that Sankey diagrams do a better job than pie charts, visualizing flows in their proportions. The things connected are called nodes and the connections are known as links. Sankey diagrams are also perfect for showing many-to-many mapping relationships.
They are very good at showing particular kinds of complex information:
- Energy flow
- Budget flow ( where the money came from and went to
- Number of people migrating from one country to another
- The flow of goods from one place to another
SANKEY VISUALIZATIONS – OUR ENERGY SYSTEM
A Sankey diagram was used to visualize the primary energy source supply directly to the residential, industrial, commercial, and transportation sectors in the USA. It also showed how electricity was generated from a list of primary sources.
The diagram appeared complex at first view but very with careful observation, it gives out detailed information.
The Sankey diagram shows the primary sources of energy: solar, nuclear, hydro, wind, geothermal, natural gas, coal, biomass, and oil. The colored links show the flow of energy from these primary sources to their destinations: residential, commercial, industrial and transportation uses. The width of the links shows the proportion of energy flow to its primary source.
The visualization allows you to click on a primary “source of energy” to examine its “flow of energy.” It places the other categories in the rear and reduces the clutter of information. The use of labels also helps ascertain the value of the amount of energy flowing from the primary source to its destination.
Sankey diagrams can be very effective in displaying visual information about complex data. The caveat is to be very cautious of cluttering information due to its complexity.
SANKEY VISUALIZATIONS
By Emmanuel Mattey
A Sankey chart/visualization is the type that provides an overview of the flows in a system, such as movements, cost, energy or materials, or in advertising, the customer journey. Elements within the chart are represented with rectangles and texts from a source with links represented by arrows or arcs that have a width proportional to the importance of the flow to a corresponding destination.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine displayed Our Energy System using a Sankey chart/visualization which gives simply but detailed information on the energy sources/generation and the respective entities that use the energy in proportions and the overall useful and unused energy.
The site initially gives an overview of the energy situation and the respective end-users who make up the total. It also has tabs that lead to other important sources for more information on the subject as shown in the image below.
By clicking on the “start the flow” button, it displayed the chart with the sources of energy through to the respective users and the overall usage. The chart did not make much sense to me when it first opened but upon careful study and navigation, I got the concept and how it depicts the information therein. At the click of every button comes a pop-up containing (shown in the images below) information that gives the audience a better understanding of the concept/chart.
A Sankey chart/visualization is a great way of displaying information in a flow format. However, it does not readily make sense until carefully studied due to the complex look/nature with arrows/arcs crossing. It is therefore advisable to not over-clutter the figure and if possible ignore all weak connections.
Sankey Visualizations
The picture above is an example of a snaky visualization. It is typically used to show the flow of the information being discussed. In this example, it is being used to show the flow of energy and how it is used.
Originally, I was extremely overwhelmed when looking at this chart. I had no idea where to look or where to start. After the initial shock, I just started reading from left to right like I would any other chart. I began clicking around on all the headings and reading what they said. I ended up finding this chart very helpful and interesting!
First, I really like the creativity behind it. It is about electricity and I could tell that right off the bat without actually reading anything on it. Second, I like that the information is hidden within the chart. I think it makes it look a lot more clean than it would if all the paragraphs were jumbled all over the screen. Lastly, I really like how it ties everything together. It starts out with the different kinds of ways we get electric and ends with how much we use.
Overall, while it can be a little overwhelming, I think it is a great way to show data because there are a lot of different facts that can be rolled up in one visualization that is easy to navigate.
Website: http://needtoknow.nas.edu/energy/interactive/our-energy-system/