0.1 Subcellular unit

0.2 Cell

0.3 Organism

0.4 Collective biological system

0.5 Ecological system

The same entity can receive different energetic classifications at different scales. A human cell, a human organism, and the human–microbiome consortium are overlapping but energetically nonidentical systems.

0.6 Temporal state

Every energetic profile must include a time-state qualifier: