# name
The entropy cost of the use of houses in ecological economy

# metadata.dc.description.abstract[].value
Climate change driven by carbon dioxide CO₂ emissions reflects the complex interdependencies among energy systems, society, the economy, and the environment. To better understand this relationship, this study examines the economic cost of the entropy generation associated with environmental impacts from energy consumption. We find that total entropy generated across the full energy consumption process is approximately 2.5 times greater than the entropy generated within households alone, highlighting the broader, often underestimated, environmental burden of energy use. Entropy is quantified across multistage key energy processes, including electricity generation, electricity transport, energy transformation, CO₂ emissions, and changes in atmospheric emissivity. A case study on energy consumption of three residential units in the Barcelona area is used to illustrate and validate the model. Based on this analysis, we argue that only degradation-related entropy —such as that resulting from CO₂ accumulation— should be economically internalised, while entropy linked purely to energy use should not. Entropy thus offers a consistent and physically grounded metric to bridge thermodynamic principles with ecological economics, supporting sustainability assessment and policy development.

# metadata.dc.relation.ispartof[].value
Journal Of Cleaner Production, 2025, vol. 533

# metadata.dc.source[].value
Articles publicats en revistes (Economia)

# metadata.dc.title[].value
The entropy cost of the use of houses in ecological economy