Complementary configuration and operation of a CCHP-ORC system

The electricity to thermal energy output ratio is an important impact factor for the operating modes and performances of combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) systems. If the energy requirements of users are managed to just match this ration, the system efficiency would reach the maximum. However, due to the randomness of load demands, this situation is rare to be achieved in practice. To solve this problem, a complementary CCHP-ORC system is configured in this paper. The salient feature of this system is that its electricity to thermal energy output ratio can be adjusted by changing the loads of electric chiller and organic Rankine cycle (ORC) dynamically. For this system, an optimal operation strategy and a corresponding implemented decision making process are presented within a wide load range. Case studies based on a hypothetical CCHP-ORC system for a hotel in Beijing are implemented. The results show that the primary energy consumption, the carbon dioxide emissions and the operation cost of the proposed CCHP-ORC system are all better than those of the conventional CCHP system. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.