Step 1: A Sankey diagram is a specialized flow diagram in which the width of the arrows is proportional to the flow quantity. It is widely used to represent energy, material, or cost flows in systems.
Step 2: In energy systems, it effectively illustrates how energy enters a system, how it is distributed among different processes, and how much is lost (often through waste heat). This helps in analyzing and improving system efficiency.
Step 3: Other chart types do not convey flow or proportional transitions:
- Pie charts represent parts of a whole but lack directional flow.
- Bar graphs compare quantities but don't show system transitions.
- Line graphs show trends over time, not flow distributions.