MODELING OF A COMBINED HEAT AND POWER UNIT AND EVALUATION OF SYSTEM PERFORMANCE IN BUILDING APPLICATIONS

Abstract

This thesis presents a validated model of a 4 kilowatt combined heat and power (CHP) system derived from laboratory experiments. The model is tuned to match steady state experimental tests, and validated with transient experimental results. Further simulations are performed using a modeled thermal storage system, and implementing the CHP system into a building model to evaluate the feasibility of CHP in the mid-Atlantic region, as well as the Great Lakes region. The transient simulation outputs are within 4.8% of experimental results for identical load profiles for a simulated summer week, and within 2.2% for a spring or autumn week. When integrated with a building model, the results show 23.5% cost savings on energy in the mid-Atlantic region, and 29.7% savings in the Great Lakes region.