Micro combined heat and power

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Micro combined heat and power, micro-CHP, μCHP or mCHP is an extension of the idea of cogeneration to the single/multi family home or small office building in the range of up to 50 kW.^[1] Usual technologies for the production of heat and power in one common process are e.g. internal combustion engines, micro gas turbines, stirling engines or fuel cells.

Local generation has the potential for a higher efficiency than traditional grid-level generators since it lacks the 8-10% energy losses from transporting electricity over long distances. It also lacks the 10–15% energy losses from heat transport in heating networks due to the difference between the thermal energy carrier (hot water) and the colder external environment.

The most common systems use natural gas as their primary energy source and emit carbon dioxide; nevertheless the effective efficiency of CHP heat production is much higher than of a condensing boiler, and thus reducing emissions and fuel costs.