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Archive for the ‘micro chp’ Category

CHCP saves carbon? the question is moot.

Posted in chp, climate change, Code for Sustainable Homes, energy, engineering, london, micro chp, sustainability, utilities, tagged , , , , on October 30, 2007| 5 Comments »

Over the summer there was a debate between some big names in engineering over whether combined heat, cooling, and power (CHCP) using absorption chillers actually saves carbon. The theory goes that because engine size is usually dictated by the base summer heat load, the additional heat load from the chillers allows you to upsize your engine and generate more low-carbon electricity throughout the year.

However on a current project, we’re looking at the feasibility of installing a district heating and cooling network, including installation costs. And one thing is clear: regardless of whether CHCP saves carbon, the capital cost of cooling is unaffordable.

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estimating energy cost

Posted in biofuel, biomass, chp, climate change, energy, engineering, micro chp, renewable energy, sustainability on October 11, 2007| 3 Comments »

I’m doing financial comparisons of energy systems on one of our projects. It’s a pretty standard part of our work but this morning the precision of the figures appearing in my spreadsheet strikes me as particularly specious because it doesn’t tell the whole story. Sure, clients need a comparator and you can’t preface every report with a thesis on complexities of the energy market (not that I’m capable) but just the same these results are making me uneasy and here’s a short list of reasons why:

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GLA says London schemes are exceeding 10% but that’s not entirely true

Posted in biofuel, biomass, chp, climate change, energy, engineering, london, micro chp, renewable energy, sustainability on September 27, 2007| Leave a Comment »

In Building yesterday, a study by London South Bank University says a quarter of schemes in London are exceeding the 10% target. The article states:

In total the study, undertaken by London South Bank University, looked at 113 detailed energy statements for schemes that had been given planning approval.

Erm, but none of those scheme has been built yet. And currently there’s no mechanism for enforcing adherence to the commitment by developers – unless it’s written into a Section 106. This enforcement mechanism is a tricky issue that hasn’t been resolved as far as I know. The study also finds that:

…the most effective technologies at cutting carbon are CHP and CCHP, particularly where biomass fuel is used.

Fantastic, and I’m looking forward to seeing more biomass in London. We’ve specced it on a number of jobs, the first of which is up and running. But I can say that using biomass heating (never mind biomass CCHP) brings its own logistical tangles. It’s one thing to tot it up on a spreadsheet and another entirely to bring to fruition.

Without succumbing to the pessimism that seems de rigeur when blogging about the government’s or the GLA’s green policies, I’d just like to add a note of caution. The schemes have been granted planning permission but are by no means home and dry. A follow up survey is needed to see what’s actually built.

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anarchy roundup: CHP and grid emissions

Posted in chp, climate change, energy, engineering, london, micro chp, renewable energy, sustainability, utilities on September 4, 2007| 8 Comments »

What’s going on?

There’s been a fierce debate among energy bods this summer over the environmental effectiveness of combined heat and power (CHP) and CHP with cooling (CCHP) – a debate closely tied to assumptions about the carbon emissions associated with grid electricity in the UK.

What happened?

As noted in this blog in May, Arup associate director James Thonger opened up with a broadside aimed at the GLA policy of requiring CHP and CCHP on new developments. In particular he refuted LCCA claims that gas CHP saves 54% of carbon relative to grid electricity. The LCCA is headed up by Allan Jones, former green god of Woking and now darling of the London Mayor, who didn’t take the criticism lightly.

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micro-CHP report delayed (again)

Posted in chp, climate change, energy, engineering, london, micro chp, utilities on July 2, 2007| Leave a Comment »

Just heard from the folks at the Carbon Trust who are doing the micro-CHP field trials. The release date for the next interim report has been pushed back to the end of August with the methodology to follow some time after. Advise not holding breath.

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are architects best to give green advice?

Posted in architecture, biomass, chp, climate change, energy, engineering, micro chp, renewable energy on June 11, 2007| 6 Comments »

There was an article in the Guardian last Saturday (thanks to Tessa for spotting it) by Alex James, the bassist from Blur, about having an architect come to his home to give green advice. It’s a scheme run by the RIBA where architects provide green advice in exchange for a donation to charity. At first glance this sounds positive. Certainly it’s a great channel to spread information on energy efficiency.

But things get a little weird when the article states that thick rubble walls keep the house warm in winter – which they don’t. Then architect George Stowell suggests that Alex installs a biomass CHP unit to generate his own electricity on site from wood chips. But there aren’t any commercially available biomass CHP units on a single house scale (or even twenty times that big). He may have meant biomass heating, but it’s a hell of a mistake to make, recommending something that doesn’t exist.

It might be better to send a services engineer. CIBSE should consider something similar to the RIBA programme.

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CHP oversold as a means of reducing carbon

Posted in chp, climate change, energy, engineering, london, micro chp, renewable energy on May 18, 2007| 1 Comment »

Via Tom N, a great article in BSJ on whether CHP (and CHP + cooling) actually has as much potential to reduce carbon emissions as the industry (and Ken Livingstone) would have you believe.

In general, I agree with James Thonger’s conclusions. However… (more…)

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widening spark gap boosts CHP

Posted in chp, climate change, energy, micro chp, renewable energy on May 17, 2007| 2 Comments »

According to online energy auction house BuyEnergyOnline, during April 2007 UK gas wholesale prices rose by just 1% while electricity prices increased 13%, making the widest spark gap since deregulation. (more…)

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micro-CHP report delayed

Posted in chp, climate change, energy, engineering, micro chp on April 26, 2007| Leave a Comment »

The people in charge of the micro-CHP field trial at the Carbon Trust say their next interim report will be delayed until early June with the calculation methodology to follow soon after. So we’ll have to wait a little longer for the verdict on micro-CHP. Interestingly, the MicroGen units are still in the trial so maybe it will become clearer why BG Microgen closed down.

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new single-house CHP unit

Posted in chp, climate change, energy, engineering, micro chp on March 27, 2007| Leave a Comment »

I saw on zerochampion that GTC Europe have got together with Cambridge Consultants to produce a single-house micro CHP unit. The key difference between this unit and the Mircogen or Whispergen is that it’s based on a Rankine cycle engine rather than a Stirling engine.

It’s got a similar electric-to-heat output ratio as the Whispergen and Microgen (1 kWe/9 kWt) but they claim that it operates at high efficiency at part load. They also say 2000 units will be available for sale by the end of this year at around €5000 each. It’ll be impressive if they hit the release target as the unit seems to have come out of nowhere. (more…)

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