energy-basics arithmetic
Why this book is here
This is the book that teaches the habit this site runs on: estimate before you argue. When a balcony-solar vendor quotes a payback figure, the MacKay move is to check it against the physics you can compute yourself, and the book makes that move feel ordinary.
The summary
MacKay works through Britain's entire energy system using arithmetic a motivated reader can reproduce, putting every source and sink of power in the same units and refusing to let adjectives substitute for numbers. Renewables come out physically constrained but far from useless, and the book is scrupulous about showing its work on every page. The free online edition made it the reference text for anyone who wants to reason about energy rather than have feelings about it.
Cover used at identifying scale next to this original summary. Rights basis on file: Cover thumbnail at identifying scale beside original commentary and a purchase link; referential fair-use analysis recorded in docs/editorial/books-editorial-guidance.md. Cover source: Open Library covers service.