Thermal Benefits of CHP

THERMAL ENERGY RECOVERY BENEFITS

Many energy experts and building owners understand the potential benefits of CHP for buildings - including the tremendous gains in energy efficiency. 'Roughly 67% of the energy contained in the fuel for electrical generation is rejected as waste heat into the environment,' says Reinhard Radermacher, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Center for Environmental Energy Engineering at the University of Maryland. Further losses occur in electrical power transmission.

Dr. Radermacher continues, "When this waste heat is made available at higher temperatures, then it can be utilized for dehumidification, air conditioning, or heating with advanced CHP systems. By doing so, energy efficiency can increase from 33% to as high as 80% for a CHP system, although the efficiency of electricity generation is reduced."

The Thermally Activated Technologies (TAT) Program is one of the DOE Distributed Energy's programs that focus on the thermal energy recovery aspect of CHP and ways to even further improve efficiency. TAT finds that:

In the year 2020, 5% of all energy consumed in the United States will be recycled thermal energy.

Thermal energy recycling is the largest opportunity for reducing energy consumption. American industry needs to accelerate the development of TAT to meet the energy and economic challenges of the future.

TAT are critical to ensuring indoor environmental security and reducing air pollution. American industry needs to accelerate the development of desiccant ventilation air technologies as a health and protection measure.

Direct fuel-based and recycled energy-based TAT are the focus of a new public/private partnership roadmap. Leapfrog materials, design, and control technologies are essential elements of this accelerated research, testing, and verification roadmap.

Cooling and dehumidification can occur when waste heat powers absorption chillers and desiccant dehumidifiers.

Thermal Recovery Benefits -- Environmental

"Air emissions from the production of thermal energy also must be considered. The inevitable heat from most electric generation that is not currently used could supply as much as half of the nation’s thermal energy needs," says Tina Kaarsberg in a Northeast-Midwest Institute report. "Such waste heat, therefore, is an important, if often overlooked, 'zero-emissions fuel.'"

Recovering thermal energy, or capturing the waste heat, puts all fuel types in a more favorable environmental light. Although different fuels have different emission characteristics independent of technology, Dr. Kaarsberg continued to write that, "nearly every on-site technology can be roughly twice as clean with heat recovery in a combined heat and power (CHP) configuration."



THERMAL ENERGY RECOVERY BENEFITS Many energy experts and building owners understand the potential benefits of CHP for buildings - including the tremendous gains in energy efficiency. 'Roughly 67% of the energy contained in the fuel for electrical generation is rejected as waste heat into the environment,' says Reinhard Radermacher, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Center for Environmental Energy Engineering at the University of Maryland. Further losses occur in electrical power transmission. Dr. Radermacher continues, "When this waste heat is made available at higher temperatures, then it can be utilized for dehumidification, air conditioning, or heating with advanced CHP systems. By doing so, energy efficiency can increase from 33% to as high as 80% for a CHP system, although the efficiency of electricity generation is reduced." The Thermally Activated Technologies (TAT) Program is one of the DOE Distributed Energy's programs that focus on the thermal energy recovery aspect of CHP and ways to even further improve efficiency. TAT finds that: In the year 2020, 5% of all energy consumed in the United States will be recycled thermal energy. Thermal energy recycling is the largest opportunity for reducing energy consumption. American industry needs to accelerate the development of TAT to meet the energy and economic challenges of the future. TAT are critical to ensuring indoor environmental security and reducing air pollution. American industry needs to accelerate the development of desiccant ventilation air technologies as a health and protection measure. Direct fuel-based and recycled energy-based TAT are the focus of a new public/private partnership roadmap. Leapfrog materials, design, and control technologies are essential elements of this accelerated research, testing, and verification roadmap. Cooling and dehumidification can occur when waste heat powers absorption chillers and desiccant dehumidifiers. Thermal Recovery Benefits -- Environmental "Air emissions from the production of thermal energy also must be considered. The inevitable heat from most electric generation that is not currently used could supply as much as half of the nation’s thermal energy needs," says Tina Kaarsberg in a Northeast-Midwest Institute report. "Such waste heat, therefore, is an important, if often overlooked, 'zero-emissions fuel.'" Recovering thermal energy, or capturing the waste heat, puts all fuel types in a more favorable environmental light. Although different fuels have different emission characteristics independent of technology, Dr. Kaarsberg continued to write that, "nearly every on-site technology can be roughly twice as clean with heat recovery in a combined heat and power (CHP) configuration."