Folks,
All of this discussion has got me thinking about all of the possible design goals vs. CHP design.
Maybe we need to look at what folks are designing for and see what engines match up with which designs.
Climate seems to make a big difference in design, the second being if electricity or heat is the main object.
Cold areas need continuous heat in the winter, occasional A/C in the summer.
This leads to 24/7 operation in winter, no excess heat and excess electricity.
If fuel were cheap you'd have occasional operation in summer with lots of excess heat.
You could get hot water in the summer by occasional operation, but would need to dump heat if you were using the electric to run an A/C
Hot areas need continuous A/C in the summer 24/7, and will need to dump almost all the heat except for hot water.
Winter operation would be intermittent if heat was wanted or continuous with heat dump if the electrical was the primary concern.
The next question would be if you were tied to the grid or totally independent.
A grid tie gives you big surge capacity, allowing a smaller prime mover and generator.
A battery bank is somewhat similar, except you need big bucks to match the 200 amp capacity of most standard electrical service ties.
Heat storage is pretty cheap on the other hand, letting you vary the electrical load as you see fit.
By my calculations, I'll be getting an excess of Kwh during the winter.
In Michigan, there is a grid tie arrangement you can get if you are generating with renewable fuel (WVO.)
This would allow me to generate excess Kwh credits during the winter and use them to pay the summertime electrical costs.
Any excess power over a years time is just canceled, but in the meantime, with proper management, you get to use the grid as a giant battery bank.
This would allow you to use a larger engine in the CHP unit to supply all of your heating while letting the unit sit idle in the summer instead of running at a partial load.
It sure would simplify things !
I wonder if other states have similar rules ?
This could impact the whole nature of CHP design.
Comments ?
Crumpite
All of this discussion has got me thinking about all of the possible design goals vs. CHP design.
Maybe we need to look at what folks are designing for and see what engines match up with which designs.
Climate seems to make a big difference in design, the second being if electricity or heat is the main object.
Cold areas need continuous heat in the winter, occasional A/C in the summer.
This leads to 24/7 operation in winter, no excess heat and excess electricity.
If fuel were cheap you'd have occasional operation in summer with lots of excess heat.
You could get hot water in the summer by occasional operation, but would need to dump heat if you were using the electric to run an A/C
Hot areas need continuous A/C in the summer 24/7, and will need to dump almost all the heat except for hot water.
Winter operation would be intermittent if heat was wanted or continuous with heat dump if the electrical was the primary concern.
The next question would be if you were tied to the grid or totally independent.
A grid tie gives you big surge capacity, allowing a smaller prime mover and generator.
A battery bank is somewhat similar, except you need big bucks to match the 200 amp capacity of most standard electrical service ties.
Heat storage is pretty cheap on the other hand, letting you vary the electrical load as you see fit.
By my calculations, I'll be getting an excess of Kwh during the winter.
In Michigan, there is a grid tie arrangement you can get if you are generating with renewable fuel (WVO.)
This would allow me to generate excess Kwh credits during the winter and use them to pay the summertime electrical costs.
Any excess power over a years time is just canceled, but in the meantime, with proper management, you get to use the grid as a giant battery bank.
This would allow you to use a larger engine in the CHP unit to supply all of your heating while letting the unit sit idle in the summer instead of running at a partial load.
It sure would simplify things !
I wonder if other states have similar rules ?
This could impact the whole nature of CHP design.
Comments ?
Crumpite
