Why CHP for Campuses

Results of a 2001-2002 U.S. Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National Laboratory-sponsored IDEA survey will indicate potential of CHP adoption in college and university, urban downtown, and airport campus applications.  A university campus is often an ideal application for CHP because thermal loads (heating and air conditioning) match well with power requirements and existing district energy piping systems already aggregate thermal requirements.

District energy systems are well suited for CHP applications because they:

• Significantly expand the amount of thermal loads potentially served by CHP

• Reduce the requirement for size and capital investment in production equipment due to the "diversity" of consumer loads

• Use larger and more efficient equipment and can take advantage of such things as thermal energy storage that aren't economically effective on a small scale.

• Aggregate thermal loads, enabling more cost-effective CHP.  District energy systems may be installed at large, multi-building sites such as universities, hospitals, and government complexes. District energy systems also can serve as merchant thermal systems providing heating (and often cooling) to multiple buildings in urban areas.

In addition, IDEA President Rob Thornton points out, many campus facility managers are well-qualified to understand and maintain CHP systems, and motivated to share their successes with other managers in a collegial atmosphere.

Beyond these factors, there are several drivers emerging on campuses that make CHP a winning choice. 

Technical and economic feasibility studies are needed to determine if CHP makes sense for a particular campus application. 

Next steps may include having Board of Trustee decision makers and technical facility managers to understand each others' languages to come to a decision that would benefit all interested parties.