A Systematic Computational Procedure for Assessing Small-Scale Cogeneration Application Schemes

As known the small-scale combined heat and power (CHP) technology is used in the context of distributed generation (DG). The heat produced from a small-scale CHP system may also be used for cooling purposes (trigeneration) in combination with absorption chillers. In the liberalized energy market, besides their technical adequacy, the CHP systems must prove their economic attractiveness. In this paper a systematic techno-economic-environmental computational procedure is proposed for the assessment of CHP projects dealing with: the indirect estimation of the pertinent loads, when they are not systematically recorded; the study of indoor swimming pool heating; the selection of the proper CHP technology; the system sizing; and the associated economic evaluation of the required project investment using appropriate economic indices. This procedure includes sensitivity analysis as function of key project parameters. The environmental benefit by the exploitation of CHP systems is estimated in terms of avoided green house gas (GHG) emissions, avoided conventional fuel, and primary energy savings. The two case studies being examined deal with the investigation of the indoor Swimming Pool Building, and the Law School Building of Democritos University of Thrace located in Eastern Macedonia-Thrace Region of Greece.