Page 107 - Sustainable On-Site CHP Systems Design, Construction, and Operations

CHAPTER 5

Packaged CHP Systems

Timothy C. Wagner

Thomas J. Rosfjord

ver half of the untapped 130 gigawatts (GW) of CHP potential in the United
States is in commercial and institutional buildings with the vast majority of
Othese being in sizes less than 5 megawatts (MW), as shown in Chap. 2. In this
size range, custom engineering of the systems can sometimes result in unacceptable
equipment and installation costs. Preengineered, packaged CHP systems have been
1–3
developed to address this need. These prepackaged systems provide the environ-
mental and energy security benefits of larger CHP systems, but do so at a cost that can
be competitive in many regions. This chapter describes packaged CHP systems, their
benefits and shortcomings, and gives characteristic performance of commercially avail-
able packaged CHP systems.

Intrinsic Features of Packaged CHP Systems
Consumers are familiar with packaged systems. For example, every refrigerator, tele-
phone, and automobile is a packaged system. Each is an integrated system that has
been preengineered, preassembled, and prequalified to function according to customer
expectations and regulatory standards. In the case of an automobile, the consumer, for
example, does not buy a steering wheel, a gasoline engine, four tires, and other hard-
ware, and then assemble them to acquire an automobile. The consumer buys an inte-
grated system of parts recognized as an automobile and that operates safely.
Similarly, commercial and institutional clients are becoming familiar with packaged
CHP systems and the values they bring. A packaged CHP system is a preengineered,
preassembled, prequalified integration of a prime mover that produces electricity, a
thermally activated technology (TAT) device that converts the prime mover waste heat
into useful energy, and auxiliary equipment such as switchgear, controls, black-start
equipment, and fuel-gas compressors. The CHP package may consist of either a single
module or multiple modules, but if the latter is true, the mechanical, electrical, and
communication/control interfaces between modules are precisely specified.
In contrast to a packaged CHP system, the traditional CHP system is engineered
and acquired as a kit of separate parts, and then assembled to function at, and with, the

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