Capstone MicroTurbine CHP and CCHP solutions are said by UK distributor, Turner EPS, to “reduce energy costs, ensure power availability, and help preserve the environment with their ‘near-zero’ emissions profile”.
The company said: “Derived through advanced engineering based on proven turbine design, microturbines represent a watershed energy management solution. To produce 120 kW of hot water using 65 kW of electricity in a CHP application, Capstone MicroTurbines require 230 kW of fuel. To achieve the same electricity and hot water outputs, some traditional energy sources use up to 33% more fuel.” In fact, Turner EPS maintains, microturbine-powered CHP and CCHP applications increase energy efficiencies ‘from about 28%, to greater than 80%’.
The company added: “As microturbines generate clean-and-green electricity, they produce exhaust heat. With CHP and CCHP, the waste heat is captured, rather than released to the atmosphere. This thermal power is then used to heat the building, provide warm water for laundry, or heat swimming pool water.”
In a CCHP application, an absorption chiller added to the system turns waste heat into a cooling source most commonly used for air-conditioning, further boosting energy efficiencies, since less utility power is needed. Steam can also be produced as a by-product of the microturbine exhaust through the absorption chiller, which can, for example, be used as part of a hospital’s sterilisation or cleaning process.
