A Micro-Combined Heat and Power Laboratory for Experiments in Applied Thermodynamics

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to describe a micro-combined heat and power system, sized for residential distributed power generation, which was designed, constructed, and installed in the Advanced Energy Technologies Laboratory at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. The installation began as a Mechanical Engineering senior design project, in which students evaluated potential methods for distributed residential combined heat and power systems. Potential systems were evaluated based on cost-effectiveness in supplying the energy requirements of a typical residence in Milwaukee, WI, and they were also judged on their environmental impacts. Initial feasibility studies, undertaken with consideration of Milwaukee’s climatic conditions, found that a natural gas-fired, reciprocating engine-generator set with heat recovery exchangers could best meet the energy needs of a typical residence in a cost-effective manner. Following the design, fabrication, and installation of the system in the laboratory, the team designed and performed experiments to quantify the system performance. The system is currently configured to deliver 2 kW of electric power and 6 kW of thermal power, achieving an overall efficiency of 72%. The system is now used in two courses: Applied Thermodynamics, and Advanced Energy Technologies. During the cogeneration laboratories performed in these courses, students decide which measurements are needed and use the collected data to compute performance parameters, to complete an energy balance, and to perform a second-law analysis of the system.