Micro-combined cooling, heating and power systems hybrid electric-thermal load following operation

Micro-combined cooling, heating and power (mCCHP), typically designated as less than 30 kW electric, is a technology that generates electricity at or near the place where it is used. The waste heat from the electricity generation can be used for space cooling, space heating, or water heating. The operation of mCCHP systems, while obviously dependent upon the seasonal atmospheric conditions, which determine the building thermal and power demand, is ultimately controlled by the operation strategy. Two of the most common operation strategies are to run the prime mover in accordance to either electrical or thermal demand. In this study, a mCCHP system operating following a hybrid electric-thermal load (FHL) is proposed and investigated. This operation strategy is evaluated and compared with mCCHP systems operating following the electric load (FEL) and operating following the thermal load (FTL). This evaluation and comparison is based on site energy consumption (SEC), primary energy consumption (PEC), operational cost, and carbon dioxide emission reduction (CDE). Results show that mCCHP systems operated following the hybrid electric-thermal load have better performance than mCCHP-FEL and mCCHP-FTL. mCCHP-FHL showed higher reductions of PEC, operational cost, and carbon dioxide emissions than the ones obtained for the other two operation strategies for the evaluated case.