Combined Cooling, Heat, and Power Systems [ August 10th, 2010 ] Posted in » News
Reduce Your Footprint with Cogeneration
A building may contain a vast array of efficiency measures, or it may be old and inefficient. Either way, the electricity used in the building will likely be produced with inherent inefficiencies. The efficiency of fossil fuel based electricity production averages 34% (although new combined cycle plants can exceed 50% efficiency). The ultimate efficiency of any building pulling electricity from the grid is limited by that number.
The balance of the energy consumed in a power plant is rejected as waste heat. Combined heat and power (CHP) systems tap that waste heat to serve heating and cooling loads, increasing the overall efficiency of a building. Combined heat and power systems are also known as “cogeneration” since they generate both electricity and usable thermal energy.
For a CHP system to work, the electricity generation must usually occur at or near the building so that the heat can be used on site, as thermal energy is not as easily distributed as electricity or fossil fuels.
What can the thermal energy be used for?
- Space heating
- Hot water heating
- Localized reheat
- Industrial processes
- Cooling through absorption chillers
Potential for Significant Savings
The United States already has a large number of CHP systems. The avoided energy use is more than 1.9 quadrillion BTUs annually.
Despite those significant savings, combined heat and power is not being used to its capacity. In 1900, over 50% of electricity production in the United States came from CHP sources, but that number dropped to 15% by the 1950s and to 5% by the 1970s. With the passage of the Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA), CHP generation began rising once again, but it is still far below the levels achieved in Europe, where the percentage of CHP production is five to six times higher.
Building types where CCHP systems can be used effectively to meet coincident electrical and thermal loads include:
- Hospitals
- Colleges/Universities
- Nursing Homes
- Large Hotels
- Prisons
- Refineries
- Breweries/Distillers
- Food Processing
- Bio Technology
- Sewage Treatment Plants
Contact Alternative Energy of North America today for a free quote on a Combined Cooling, Heat, and Power system! Call (480) 221-1178 or go to our Contact Us page.
