Cogeneration is defined as the combined production of heat and electricity from the same primary energy source. A cogeneration process is only present when the heat produced is useful for an economically justifiable purpose.
Cogeneration generates a more efficient use of fuel or heat because the heat of another type from electricity production is put to some productive use. Combined heat and power plants recover waste heat energy for heating. This is also called combined heat and power district heating.
It is possible to coordinate renewable energy sources and cogeneration plants locally with respect to the local energy demand profile, including the management of energy storage and optimisation of self-consumption through the Building Management Systems which will be responsible for managing the production and use of renewable energy sources, implementing control algorithms that take into account the building’s load profile (thermal and electrical), as well as the possibility of using thermal or electrical energy storage solutions.
The use of thermal energy in cogeneration systems can be carried out in various ways: steam, thermal oil, hot water, hot air, etc. It can also be carried out in the form of cold, generally through the production of cold or iced water (5ºC to 7ºC) through absorption chillers. The use of the thermal energy resulting from the cogeneration process for the production of cold is called trigeneration.
The sectors of activity with appropriate conditions for the installation of cogeneration units correspond to industries or services that consume large amounts of thermal energy: refining, petrochemical and chemical, pulp and paper, ceramics, textiles and food.
In the tertiary sector, cogeneration is normally associated with air conditioningin large buildingsor undertakings with centralised air conditioning: shopping centres, hospitals, hotels, swimming pools and leisure centres, hypermarkets and supermarkets, office buildings and urban developments with centralised air conditioning.
The gain in efficiency in this system provides the production of reliable electrical energy at low cost, making the industrial or commercial unit independent of the quality of the energy distributor’s supply. This is of the utmost importance for projects that require a continuous and uninterrupted supply, such as hospitals, hotels, shopping centres, large undertakings or even industries.
Besides the high performance, with practically no waste, cogeneration has a decentralised character, because it needs to be close to the consuming unit. Therefore, the environmental impact is reduced, as there is no need for extensive transmission lines and consequently no need for support infrastructures.
WiseBuilding® has the technical capability to support your new-build or renovation process when it comes to technical systems and has established partnerships to help you in the field of cogeneration.Contact us.
Wise Building® Management System is a BACnet B-AWS certified software solution for state-of-the-art integration, control, management and visualization in building automation systems. Designed to redefine the way buildings are operated through an open platform and seamless harmonization between building-generated data by supporting multiple protocols including BACnet, Modbus, KNX, OPC-UA and MQTT. Through the use of Haystack technology, the software also empowers the building for the future at the forefront in the integration of the various technical systems.
