COGENERATION IS THE COMBINED PRODUCTION OF ELECTRICITY AND THERMAL ENERGY.
Every day we use valuable fuel (natural gas or diesel oil) to produce thermal energy through the boiler and electrical energy through the thermal power plants, taking it from the national grid; this results in higher resource consumption related to dual power generation.
Cogeneration is the combined production of electricity and thermal energy. How is this possible?
An engine is connected with an electric generator which, using the mechanical energy developed by the engine, produces,in this way, electrical energy.
The engine, in the course of its operation, generates heat in the cylinders, lubricating oil and exhaust gases. This heat, which is normally lost to the environment, is fully recovered; if we compare the efficiency of generation, compared with separate power generation in thermal power plants and heat in boilers, we find that CHP has 30-40% lower fuel consumption. This means economic savings and reduced atmospheric emissions.
Cogeneration is particularly suitable in all situations where simultaneous thermal and electrical demand is generally constant throughout the year