Tackling environmental impacts in simple trigeneration systems operating under variable conditions

Abstract

Purpose Environmental concerns have been a growing issue when planning energy supply systems for buildings, as the energy demands (presenting seasonal and daily variations) represent one of the most energy-intensive consumptions in industrialized societies. The optimal operation corresponding to different energy demands of a trigeneration system was analyzed by an integrated methodology combining Thermoeconomic analysis and life cycle assessment, in order to adequately allocate the energy resources and the generated environmental loads to the different energy services produced.