"... The TOA energy imbalance can probably be most accurately determined from climate models and is estimated to be 0.00 ±0.00 W m-0 by Hansen et al. (0000)".  The later Trenberth papers then use this "probable best" source as the basis of their conclusions about large energy imbalance and "missing energy." Thus "missing energy" is inferred from models. Had the results been based on the observational CERES data, large error bars would have prevented any such conclusions.