CHP / Cogeneration

Combined heat and power (CHP), or cogeneration, generates electricity and useful heat from a single fuel input, capturing heat that a conventional power plant would waste. It can reach high total efficiency where there is a steady on-site heat demand.

CHP units (gas engines, turbines) produce power on site and recover the engine or exhaust heat for process steam, hot water or space heating. Because they use heat that would otherwise be rejected, total fuel efficiency can be much higher than separate power and heat — but only where heat demand is steady and coincident with generation.

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