Cogeneration system and applied economic analsis: For a hospital

In parallel with the increase in the population in the world, energy demand has been increasing. Fossil fuels that are widely utilised for this energy demand have increased global warming and environmental pollution as well. Moreover, due to limited fossil fuel resources, searching for alternative energy resources has been accelarated. Alternative energy sources, i.e. solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, that can renew themselves in natural cycle with minimal pollution have been widely explored. Efficient use of primary energy resources is as important as developing alternatives. Cogeneration systems that utilizes heat and electricity (especially in natural gas systems) have become as important as alternative energy resources in value and their utilization have gained widespread applications. Systems that heat and electrical power can be produced at the same time from same fuel are called cogeneration power units. There are two main advantages that make cogeneration systems valuable: First, increasing total efficiency, compare to conventional systems, by utilizing waste heat. Second, emmisions of green house gases are reduced due to increased efficiency. In this study, economic analysis of a cogeneration system was investigated for applicability for a private hospital in Istanbul having 22000 m2 of closed area with 109 beds. For this project, drive unit was chosen motor type cogeneration with calculated system power of 800 kW based on hospital energy demand. According to results of system analysis, return of investment will be about 2 years and 3.500.000 euro revenue will be generated in 15 years of operation.