What are CHP installations and why are they increasingly common?

Companies are now even more motivated to find sustainable energy solutions, as they bring the added benefit of savings on energy bills. In fact, those priorities are often reversed, due to the need to manage the escalating costs of commercial electricity and gas.

For increasing numbers of organisations, the solution is installing combined heating and power (CHP) systems.

This article explains the meaning of a CHP and explores CHP benefits compared to conventional electricity and thermal energy production. In particular, it will look at the environmental and economic advantages of CHP installations.

What is CHP?

Cogeneration systems are becoming an increasingly preferred option for power generation in growing numbers of commercial premises, and multi-resident developments. So, what’s involved in combined heating and power systems?

Traditional ways to create heat rely on a direct conversion from the electricity supply. CHP installations work differently. They are able to recover waste thermal energy and convert that to the electricity required to create heat.

CHP installations rely on various ‘prime movers’ or power sources to work. The five most common power generation units (PGUs) are fuel cells, a reciprocating (piston) engine, a combustion turbine, a steam turbine or a microturbine.

Obviously, the PGU sits alongside energy recovery components, and a safe heat and energy management system, to regulate the output.

To illustrate how a CHP system works, your chosen technology would create thermal energy, which is then captured and channelled into an electrical supply to some of your equipment. For example, it could match the energy demands of an average air conditioning system.

In some rural locations, CHP installations are being used to support the water heating systems that need to run across several buildings or homes. This is just one of the ways CHP systems reduce reliance on the national grid and provide reliable on-site power supply.

Efficiency benefits of CHP

Many of the advantages of having a CHP system installed arise from the equipment’s ability to be far more efficient than conventional heating options. In fact, as much as 85% more efficient, depending on the type of technology used within your choice of system.

It’s easy to see why. This equipment enables you to achieve two forms of energy from one source.

Also, CHP systems need less fuel to work than traditional alternatives. As they are an integrated electricity and heat option, they also avoid the loss of electricity that can occur when you are transmitting and distributing it across power lines.

CHP installations ensure you can stay operational if supply from the national grid is interrupted for any reason. You can also use your on-site energy supply system to cope with peak demands when cross-site energy load becomes an issue.

Environmental and economic benefits

Clearly, the science behind combined heating and power systems means you become less reliant on fossil fuels. Instead, you are capturing heat that would otherwise be lost, as a way to self-generate electricity within the wider sustainable agenda. This way to reduce carbon emissions is also a potential method of reducing your emission of pollutants.

However, the driving factor for many organisations commissioning CHP systems is their ability to cut energy bills significantly. They require less energy than conventional systems and self-generate electricity.

Further savings can be achieved if CHP installations are scaled up to cover multiple locations. This can greatly reduce your long-term investment in multiple pieces of heating and air conditioning operating equipment, for example.

Reliability of CHP installations

The cost of CHP systems must be weighed against their value as an option for on-site electricity generation. For example, downtime in manufacturing companies is believed to cost UK industry 180bn every year. If you have a CHP system installed, you could greatly reduce the impact of power outages and other electricity supply issues.

CHP installations also reduce the need for a more complex and costly energy transmission and distribution infrastructure. A simplification that improves, rather than limits your readily available power.

Another reason to consider CHP systems is that they are easy to get installed, with minimum disruption

As long as you find a specialist service to install combined heating and power systems!

How to commission CHP installations

Finding the best type of CHP system for your location and energy requirements is important, as is using a specialist engineering team to find the most strategic place to put it. CHP systems do require enough space to accommodate all elements, including properly insulated pipework.

British engineering company Engex – with its extensive reputation for innovation and excellence – can offer free consultation on CHP installations. This dovetails with our Engex Green Solutions and Net Zero services, which build a better environment and a better future for our clients.

Source for statistic: The Manufacturer