Combined Heat and Power CHP
Combined Heat and Power CHP
Combined Heat and Power CHP
Combine heat and power other wise known as Cogeneration is the use
of a heat engine or a power station to simultaneously generate both
electricity and useful heat. It is one of the most common forms of
energy recycling
By capturing the excess heat, CHP uses heat that would be wasted in a
conventional power plant, potentially reaching an efficiency of up to
89%, compared with 55% for the best conventional plants.
This means that less fuel needs to be consumed to produce the same
amount of useful energy
CHP is most efficient when the heat can be used on site or very close
to it.
A car engine becomes a CHP plant in winter, when the reject heat is
useful for warming the interior of the vehicle.
A
The Working Principle of a Gas Fired CHP
(2) This produces a flow of hot gas that drives a turbine which is coupled
to generator producing electricity.
(3) The exhaust gas is then captured using a heat recovery boiler
(4) The boiler provides space and water heating for local building
(5) Excess low grade heat is also captured to drive a steam turbine-
producing yet more electricity
(6) Some of the heat could also drive an abortion chiller, producing cold
air for air condition
Simple Cogeneration principle
Types of CHP
Cutting the distance between power plants and consumers also makes
travel down shorter the electricity supply is more efficient, less
energy is lost due to resistance
Taking decentralization to its logical conclusion, it can even work out
efficient for offices, schools, hotels, and homes to have their own mini or
micro CHP power plant producing their electricity and hot water where it
is consumed and sending any unwanted electricity to the power grid for
other people.
(1) MicroCHP
The installation is usually more than 5 kWe and less than 500 kWe in
a building or medium sized business.
It is indicated that Micro CHP based on Stirling engines is the most
cost effective of the so called micro generation technologies in abating
carbon emissions
MiniCHP has a large role to play in the field of CO2 reduction from
buildings where more than 14% of emissions can be using CHP in a
buildings
Advantages of CHP
(i) It is highly efficient
(ii) Every tonne of fossil fuel we avoid burning stops carbon dioxide
from entering the atmosphere and reducing the problem of global
warming.
(iii) Burning fewer fossil fuels also reduces air pollution and related
problems such as water pollution and acid rain.
(iv) Replacing huge power plants with more CHP plants that are much
smaller makes us less dependent on the centralized energy network
and, in theory, major system failures and outages (blackouts) are
reduced.
(v) Just like conventional power plants, CHP plants can run off virtually
any fuel, from oil, gas, and oil to methane gas produced in landfill
sites or power made by burning trash in municipal incinerators.
Disadvantages of CHP
(iv) some critics argue that CHP is less efficient than alternative
technologies such as heat pumps, which could be a far better way to
tackling climate change