COMBINED HEAT & POWER

Combined Heat and Power (CHP) link the generation of usable heat and power (electricity), into a single, very efficient process.

The process of generating electricity creates as a by-product, heat. Instead of the heat being lost, it is captured and routed through pipes to provide a viable heating and potentially cooling option. If the CHP system was not utilised, and more conventional method used to generate power, this heat would just be wasted. In some cases, this “lost energy” in standard power generation processes can amount to 2/3rds of the overall energy consumed.

CHP is a highly efficient process. Utilising the waste heat and processing it effectively can see sites achieve efficiency ratings in excess of 80%. This compares very favorably to gas power stations which average at about 50% efficiency and is positively futuristic compared to the paltry 38% efficiencies seen in coal fired plants.

CHP systems can be set up using any type of fuel. It is not specifically linked to fossil fuels and renewable energy sources can be equally used in a CHP plant.

By the fact that CHP plants uses ducting to transport the captured heat, the plants tend to be local. Transportation of power through the grid system can see leakage levels of around 7%. These levels reduce significantly when the plant is local.

The captured heat can also be used for cooling systems as well using a heat transferal system.