Extending the inputeoutput energy balance methodology in agriculture through cluster analysis
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Date
2012Author
Bojacá, Carlos Ricardo
Casilimas, Héctor Albeiro
Gil, Rodrigo
Schrevens, Eddie
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Abstract
The inputeoutput balance methodology has been applied to characterize the energy balance of agricultural systems. This study proposes to extend this methodology with the inclusion of multivariate
analysis to reveal particular patterns in the energy use of a system. The objective was to demonstrate the
usefulness of multivariate exploratory techniques to analyze the variability found in a farming system
and, establish efficiency categories that can be used to improve the energy balance of the system. To this
purpose an inputeoutput analysis was applied to the major greenhouse tomato production area in
Colombia. Individual energy profiles were built and the k-means clustering method was applied to the
production factors. On average, the production system in the study zone consumes 141.8 GJ ha 1 to
produce 96.4 GJ ha 1
, resulting in an energy efficiency of 0.68. With the k-means clustering analysis,
three clusters of farmers were identified with energy efficiencies of 0.54, 0.67 and 0.78. The most energy
efficient cluster grouped 56.3% of the farmers. It is possible to optimize the production system by
improving the management practices of those with the lowest energy use efficiencies. Multivariate
analysis techniques demonstrated to be a complementary pathway to improve the energy efficiency of
a system.
Palabras clave
Energy use; Regional analysis; Greenhouse tomato; k-means clustering; ColombiaLink to resource
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2012.09.051Collections
- Año 2012 [125]
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