Vizion Corporation

CHP is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies using a range of technologies and fuels. With on-site power production, losses are minimized and heat that would otherwise be wasted is applied to facility loads in the form of process heating, steam, hot water, or even chilled water. CHP can be located at an individual facility or building or it can be a district energy, microgrid, and/or utility resource that provides power and thermal energy to multiple end-users. CHP equipment can provide resilient power 24/7 in the event of grid outages, and it can be paired with other distributed energy technologies like solar photovoltaics (PV) and energy storage.

During conventional separate power and heat generation, nearly two-thirds of energy is wasted—discharged to the atmosphere as heat during generation, transmission, and distribution. By capturing and using heat that would otherwise be wasted and by avoiding distribution losses, CHP can achieve efficiencies of over 80 percent, compared to 50 percent for typical technologies (e.g., conventional electricity generation and an on-site boiler). Because of this increased efficiency, CHP systems can emit less carbon emissions than separate heat and grid power.