non-commercial energy the energy forms which are not subject to a commercial exchange; they are difficult to account for in energy balances, even though they are based on physical and not monetary flows, because own-account production and use of energy can generally only be quantified by means of consumer surveys GRM: n. Note: non-commercial energy generally originates from vegetable or animal products, sometimes as a by-product from agriculture or forestry or industrial processes; the term could also be applied to individual solar or wind energy installations or mini-hydro-installations References: ANTcommercial energy