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Micro-Combined Heating, Cooling, and Power Systems for Buildings: State-of-the-Art, Commercialization Challenges, and Research Opportunities

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "G: Energy and Buildings".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 June 2022) | Viewed by 9057

Special Issue Editor

Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Rd., Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA
Interests: miro-CHP; building energy; carbon intensity; fuel cells; low carbon fuels; renewable energy; hybrid power systems; grid resiliency; decarbonization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The energy scenario is changing throughout the world and governments, globally, are attempting to make cost-effective use of existing resources, as well as enabling the emergence of a low-carbon economy. Renewable and fossil fuels are considered a major part of the energy future, playing the role of bridge fuels while we transition towards clean renewable energy solutions. This must include enabling technologies to utilize these available resources as cleanly and efficiently as possible.

The technical potential energy saving of cogeneration technologies is significant. This potential, however, remains mostly untapped in building applications due to an imbalance between the energy generated vs. energy required, heat-to-power ratio, energy efficiency, and cost.

This Special Issue will publish papers that cover the following: (1) highlight the energy, economic, and environmental benefits of cogeneration and polygeneration technologies suitable for residential and commercial buildings; (2) identify the key desired attributes for a broadscale adoption of such technologies; (3) modeling and experimental validation of building scale cogeneration and polygeneration equipment; (4) challenges related to manufacturing, commercialization, and cost reduction; (5) perspective articles focusing on what it takes to successfully implement these promising technologies, particularly lessons learned from the European and Asian markets and how they are applicable in North America’s energy landscape, and (6) research and review articles related to micro-combined cooling, heating, and power technologies (µCCHP).

We believe this Special Issue will be widely read and highly influential within the building energy field. Researchers and authors are encouraged to send their best work to be showcased. The key criteria for manuscript acceptance will be the breadth and contribution towards understanding the total value proposition of µCCHPs as energy-efficient, resilient resources for building applications.

Dr. Praveen Cheekatamarla
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Micro-combined heat and power
  • Prime mover
  • Cogeneration
  • Building energy
  • Energy storage
  • Decarbonization
  • Electrical efficiency
  • Thermal energy utilization
  • Buildings integration
  • Grid flexibility
  • Grid resiliency
  • Sustainable energy
  • Carbon footprint

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 1639 KiB  
Communication
Role of On-Site Generation in Carbon Emissions and Utility Bill Savings under Different Electric Grid Scenarios
by Praveen Cheekatamarla
Energies 2022, 15(10), 3477; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15103477 - 10 May 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1387
Abstract
Energy-efficient and sustainable technologies are necessary to lower energy and carbon footprints. Many technologies are being pursued to meet the increasing energy demand in buildings. An attractive option is efficient utilization of available energy resources, including renewables, to support current and future building [...] Read more.
Energy-efficient and sustainable technologies are necessary to lower energy and carbon footprints. Many technologies are being pursued to meet the increasing energy demand in buildings. An attractive option is efficient utilization of available energy resources, including renewables, to support current and future building energy needs while targeting grid resiliency, energy, and environmental security at an affordable cost via on-site cogeneration-based approaches. This must include energy-efficient technologies with lower greenhouse gas emissions and optimized cost, performance, and reliability. This paper presents the economic and environmental benefits associated with power technologies such as thermionics and solid oxide fuel cells. Hybrid configurations consisting of heat pumps, power systems, and renewable photovoltaics in cogeneration and trigeneration modes of operation are presented. The role of such technologies in lowering CO2 emissions while improving energy resiliency and serving the needs of underprivileged communities is discussed. The key barriers of affordability and potential solutions for large-scale implementation of these promising technologies are reviewed. Case studies demonstrating the influence of power rating, electrical efficiency, design configuration, carbon dioxide intensity of the grid, and fuel on annual greenhouse gas emissions are presented for residential and commercial buildings. Full article
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22 pages, 4160 KiB  
Article
Decarbonization of Residential Building Energy Supply: Impact of Cogeneration System Performance on Energy, Environment, and Economics
by Praveen K. Cheekatamarla
Energies 2021, 14(9), 2538; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14092538 - 28 Apr 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1940
Abstract
Electrical and thermal loads of residential buildings present a unique opportunity for onsite power generation, and concomitant thermal energy generation, storage, and utilization, to decrease primary energy consumption and carbon dioxide intensity. This approach also improves resiliency and ability to address peak load [...] Read more.
Electrical and thermal loads of residential buildings present a unique opportunity for onsite power generation, and concomitant thermal energy generation, storage, and utilization, to decrease primary energy consumption and carbon dioxide intensity. This approach also improves resiliency and ability to address peak load burden effectively. Demand response programs and grid-interactive buildings are also essential to meet the energy needs of the 21st century while addressing climate impact. Given the significance of the scale of building energy consumption, this study investigates how cogeneration systems influence the primary energy consumption and carbon footprint in residential buildings. The impact of onsite power generation capacity, its electrical and thermal efficiency, and its cost, on total primary energy consumption, equivalent carbon dioxide emissions, operating expenditure, and, most importantly, thermal and electrical energy balance, is presented. The conditions at which a cogeneration approach loses its advantage as an energy efficient residential resource are identified as a function of electrical grid’s carbon footprint and primary energy efficiency. Compared to a heat pump heating system with a coefficient of performance (COP) of three, a 0.5 kW cogeneration system with 40% electrical efficiency is shown to lose its environmental benefit if the electrical grid’s carbon dioxide intensity falls below 0.4 kg CO2 per kWh electricity. Full article
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23 pages, 3451 KiB  
Article
Experimental Study of a Coil Type Steam Boiler Operated on an Oil Field in the Subarctic Continental Climate
by Konstantin Osintsev, Sergei Aliukov and Sulpan Kuskarbekova
Energies 2021, 14(4), 1004; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14041004 - 14 Feb 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 5112
Abstract
Transportable boiler plants are widespread in the northern regions of the Russian Federation and have a large and stable demand in various spheres of life. The equipment used and the schemes of existing boiler plants are outdated—they require replacement and modernization. Our proposed [...] Read more.
Transportable boiler plants are widespread in the northern regions of the Russian Federation and have a large and stable demand in various spheres of life. The equipment used and the schemes of existing boiler plants are outdated—they require replacement and modernization. Our proposed new installation includes a coil type steam boiler and ancillary equipment designed with the identified deficiencies in mind. The steam boiler coils are coaxial cylinders. The scope of the modernized transportable boiler plant is an oil field in the subarctic continental climate. The work is aimed at completing an experimental and theoretical study of the operation of a coil type steam boilers under real operating conditions. Experimental data on the operation of boiler plants are presented. The dependences of the fuel consumption of boiler plants on the temperature and pressure of the coolant are obtained. Statistical analysis is applied to the collected data. Conclusions are formulated and a promising direction is laid out for further research and improvement of coil type steam boilers. Equations are proposed for calculating the convective component of radiant-convective heat transfer in gas ducts, taking into account the design features of boiler units by introducing new correction factors. Comparison of the calculated and experimental data showed their satisfactory agreement. Full article
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