Comment MAKING MODERN LIVING POSSIBLE
CHP – where
size matters
will mean the engine keeps work- ing hard and continually generates ‘free’ electricity while satisfying the increasing need for low cost, low carbon heat.
David Shaw
the energy consultancy Utliyx show that heat generated onsite from renewable and low carbon sources will save UK businesses £33bn by 2030. Onsite energy generation will also contribute to 14 per cent of the UK’s energy by 2030 – up from nine per cent in 2011, it believes. What’s more, CHP and energy from waste are predicted to deliver the greatest savings at around £20bn.
CHP works best in applications with high and continuous heating loads such as hospitals, leisure centres, sheltered accommodation, hotels, fire stations, homes with swimming pools, etc. because the longer it is running to meet heating demand, the more efficient it is. Preferably, to get the best return on investment, CHP should run for at least 4,000 hours per year. Used appropriately, CHP helps reduce CO2 emissions and can result in significant financial savings. We use the word ‘appro- priately’ because historically, many problems have occurred when CHP systems have been over-sized, which has meant the system does not run continuously and therefore fails to achieve the anticipated savings.
Several factors need to be con- sidered when specifying a CHP system for a building but the key to a successful CHP installation is ensuring that the correct sized unit is installed. This will ensure that the engine runs for as long as possible, which in turn generates valuable low carbon and low-cost electricity. Ideally, the CHP system should be sized to about 15 per cent of the heat demand, which
Micro-CHP (below 50kWe capacity) offers a highly suitable solution for applications of various sizes and is growing in popularity, predominantly down to its ability to be quickly and easily retrofitted directly into buildings to either replace or augment boilers. A sin- gle, small micro-CHP unit would satisfy the base load requirements of a sheltered housing scheme comprising around 30 to 40 flats. For larger properties with higher base load requirements, multiple units can be installed and offer greater operational flexibility and increased overall reliability compared to single unit, larger output CHP solutions.
Leading manufacturers will have teams on hand who will be able to work closely with speci- fiers to help them select the right CHP unit for optimum perform- ance. Some offer CPD training courses to help with integrating mini-CHP into heating systems, checklists for successful mini-CHP installations, guidelines for calculating energy and CO2 savings once the system has been installed, and performance monitoring and reporting once the system is operational. CHP instal- lations with remote monitoring facilities, particularly those with end-user access, will offer the best chance of delivering optimum performance. With ambitious carbon reduc-
tion targets to meet and energy prices increasing, there’s a greater demand for low carbon and renewable technologies than ever before. There are a large number of applications where CHP solutions can be utilised but the issue of specifiying the correct size needs to be further promoted in order to enable the CHP market to continue to grow.
//The author, David Shaw, is Baxi Commercial’s LZC national sales manager//
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www.heatingandventilating.net www.heating.danfoss.co.uk HVR | March 2014 | 9
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