CCHP the Future
Abstract
Keywords
CCHP
safety
energy consumption
economic benefits
air pollution
GHG
10.1. Introduction
Combined production of heat and power (CHP) using a single energy source and a prime mover has been recognized as one of the clean energy strategies offered to local governments (EPA 2008). It is evident that improving CHP systems and using them as CCHP systems can magnify their benefits. The best way to imagine the future of CCHP systems is to discuss their real impact on the parameters that are most important for governments and consumers in recent and coming years. In previous chapters, we have investigated the impact of CCHP systems on fuel consumption, pollution reduction, and economic criteria. In the following mutual benefits of CCHP systems for governments and consumers are highlighted from a general point of view.
10.2. Benefits of CCHP for Consumers and Governments
To get a better outlook on the future of the CCHP systems, we should focus on the advantages of CCHP systems for governments and consumers.
10.2.1. Energy Consumption
CCHP systems can reach an overall efficiency of about 75% to 85% depending on the CCHP components and energy demands. This means 25% to 35% fuel savings with respect to SCHP systems, which results in mutual benefits for both consumers and government. This significant reduction of fuel consumption can be translated into less costs in providing, transporting, and distributing (PTD) fuel to the consumers. As a result the local government will pay less for PTD system installation, operation, and maintenance. In addition less fuel consumption means less pollution production and consequently less health care costs. Furthermore, reduction of fuel consumption reduces the fuel bills of consumers.
10.2.2. Omitting T&D Losses and Costs
Generating electricity in the vicinity of the consumer brings important advantages for both governments and consumers. Governments will pay less to develop the electricity transportation and distribution (T&D) grid. It also omits the electricity T&D loss and consequently reduces electricity production, transportation, and distribution costs for governments. It also makes consumers independent from the grid. Well-designed CCHP systems with proper operation and maintenance programs reduce unscheduled shutdowns, which is very important for most consumers. Reducing unscheduled shutdowns increases the reliability of electricity generation, which is very important for companies or institutions whose products and services are very electricity dependant.
10.2.3. Safety
Safety is a critical parameter in production, transportation, and distribution of different types of energy. A centralized, several hundred MW's power plant constructed to provide electricity for a city is very vulnerable to terrorist attacks, war, and natural disasters such as flood, thunderstorms, etc. In an unscheduled shutdown of a centralized power plant all consumers including residential, institutional, industrial, transportation, etc will face the same problem [1–3]. They all are out of electricity. A distributed electricity production system such as a CCHP system is much less vulnerable than centralized electricity production. The reason is very clear since it is actually impossible for terrorists to attack all of the small distributed electricity producers. In addition, in the case of natural disasters many CCHP systems may keep running and emergency help can be diverted to other people who are out of electricity, cooling, or heating. This is very helpful for both governments and consumers. Those who use CCHP systems will most likely have electricity, heating, and cooling in critical situations.
10.2.4. Job Creation
CCHP systems are a new and attractive market that can help governments in producing many new and different job opportunities. CCHP technology development creates jobs at different levels of training, research and development (R&D), consultancy, optimization, manufacturing, marketing, transportation, installation, operation and maintenance, etc. Creating job opportunities is also of mutual benefit to consumers and governments.
10.2.5. Economic Benefits for Consumers
In comparison with SCHP systems, consumers pay a higher initial capital cost with CCHP systems. While when using SCHP systems consumers always pay for operation and maintenance and energy bills, on the other hand SCHP systems produce no income for consumers. On the contrary, CCHP systems make money for consumers through different methods such as fuel saving (lower fuel bills), selling electricity to the grid, and no payments for electricity bills. These positive cash flows can pay back the initial capital cost in a reasonable time. The CCHP system can also be designed to create a positive net present value for the project, which means the project is certainly profitable. Earning money through efficient energy consumption increases the net income of consumers; therefore they are encouraged to manage their energy consumption more efficiently to make the CCHP system more efficient and more beneficial.
10.2.6. Reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) and Air Pollution
CCHP systems can reduce CO2 production up to 50% in comparison with SCHP systems that produce the same amount of cooling, heating, and electricity. Although CCHP systems can be used in different sectors including residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation, using them even just in the residential and commercial sectors results in a significant reduction of GHG and other air pollution. For example, from the US total energy consumption of 95.02 quadrillion Btu in 2012, residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation sectors consume 20.10, 17.61, 30.54, and 26.77 quadrillion Btu, respectively. This means that the residential and commercial sectors consume about 39.68% of the total energy consumption. The annual energy consumption of residential and commercial sectors for the years 2025 and 2040 based on the annual energy outlook of 2013 is estimated to be 39.20% and 41.07% of the total energy consumption, respectively [4]. According to these statistics and predictions, the residential and commercial sectors have great potential to make use of CCHP benefits, especially in reduction of GHG production and fuel consumption. Decreasing GHG levels decreases the risk of global warming, an international concern. In addition, decreasing any other air pollution such as CO, NOx, SO2, etc. improves the air quality and decreases related risks such as disease, acid rains, etc. It is clear that everyone benefits from reduction of air pollution and GHG.
10.2.7. High Potential for Improvement
CCHP systems continue to improve their energy utilization efficiency, they can be further improved by linking them with renewable energy resources and new technologies. CCHP systems can be linked with solar collectors to use solar energy. They can use biofuel as the main fuel, and if available they can use geothermal energy. They can be linked with TES systems to store surplus heat, etc. This high potential for improvement will lead to the development of other new technologies that can be linked with CCHP systems.
10.3. Future of CCHP Systems
In the previous section the mutual benefits of using CCHP systems for governments and consumers were discussed. It is proven that using CCHP systems reduces fuel consumption and air pollution. They can be designed to create economic benefits for the consumer as well. This increases the safety of energy production, transportation, and distribution. It omits many costs and brings profits for governments and consumers. These benefits in addition to government support can help to encourage the use of CCHP systems in newly designed and constructed buildings. Consideration of proper financial support can also encourage consumers to renew their energy conversion equipment and use CCHP systems instead. In addition increasing oil prices due to war or other international instability can encourage the use of more efficient energy conversion equipment such as CCHP systems. Looking at the many advantages of CCHP systems, the future of this new technology looks bright.