Integrated assessment of combined cooling heating and power systems under different design and management options for residential buildings in Shanghai

As a well-known technique for rational use of energy, the combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) system is paid more and more attention in building energy conservation activities. In this paper, the performances of typical CCHP systems are investigated for a high-rise residential building, which is experiencing rapid expansion in China. Based on the building's energy consumption, four types of CCHP technologies have been assumed following three design and management modes, namely, heat tracking mode, electricity tracking mode and energy island mode. In order to have a comprehensive understanding of the performance of the assumed CCHP systems, besides the separated energy, economic and environmental assessments, an integrated assessment framework is proposed. According to the simulation results, gas engine and fuel cell based CCHP systems are feasible options from the energy and environmental viewpoints, but at the cost of poor economic performance. From an integrated viewpoint, the gas engine system is the most attractive option if economic performance is taken into account; otherwise the fuel cell system is the best choice. In addition, the selection of proper design and management mode is of vital importance for the adoption of the CCHP system. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.