What is Combined Heating and Power (CHP)?
Combined heat and power (CHP) technologies (also known as cogeneration) simultaneously produces both electricity and heat from a single fuel such as natural gas, biomass, biogas, coal, waste heat or oil that is strategically placed at or near a facility/consumer to supply onsite energy needs. Heat that normally would be wasted in electricity generation is recovered and used, thereby increasing the overall efficiency.
Interest in CHP technologies has grown over the past decade as consumers and providers seek to reduce energy costs while improving service and reliability.
According to the United States Clean Heat and Power Administration (USCHPA), CHP systems:
- produce almost 8% of U.S. electric power;
- save building and industry owners over $5 billion per year in energy costs;
- decrease energy use by almost 1.3 trillion BTUs/year;
- reduce NOx emissions by 0.4 million tons/year;
- reduce SO2 emissions by over 0.9 million tons/year; and,
- prevent release of over 35 million metric tons of carbon equivalent into the atmosphere.
As an efficient, clean, and reliable source of energy, CHP is designed to:
- meet the thermal and electrical base loads of a facility;
- greatly increase a facility's operational efficiency;
- decrease energy costs;
- reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases; and,
- help fight climate change.
CHP can be modified depending on the end user's needs. The EPA has said that CHP technology exists in a wide variety of energy-intensive facilities nationwide, including:
- industrial manufacturers - chemical, refining, ethanol, pulp and paper, food processing, glass manufacturing
- institutions - colleges and universities, hospitals, prisons, military bases
- commercial buildings - hotels and casinos, airports, high-tech campuses, large office buildings, nursing homes
- municipal - district energy systems, wastewater treatment facilities, K-12 schools
- residential - multi-family housing, planned communities
CHP is efficient, reliable, helping the environment, and makes good economic sense.