ChatGPT on CHP Benefits

We asked ChatGPT the following question, its answer was good as it has access to a phenominal amount of relevant data! We also like the way it mentioned wasted heat from {centralised electricity production}

"What are the main benefits of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems in a city enviroment?

ChatGPT Answered

Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems, also known as cogeneration, offer several benefits when implemented in a city environment. Here are some of the main advantages of using CHP systems:

1. Increased energy efficiency: CHP systems use the heat generated during electricity production, which would otherwise be wasted, to provide heat to buildings. By capturing this wasted heat, CHP systems can achieve efficiency rates of up to 90%, compared to just 50% for conventional power plants.

2. Reduced greenhouse gas emissions: Because CHP systems use less fuel to produce the same amount of energy, they emit fewer greenhouse gases than conventional power plants. In addition, by using locally generated energy, CHP systems can reduce the need for energy to be transported long distances, further reducing emissions.

3. Improved energy security: CHP systems can provide a reliable source of electricity and heat to buildings, even during power outages or other disruptions to the grid. This can help to improve energy security in a city and reduce the risk of blackouts or other energy-related issues.

4. Lower energy costs: By generating electricity and heat on-site, CHP systems can reduce a city's reliance on expensive grid electricity and imported fuels. This can lead to lower energy costs for businesses and residents, which can be especially beneficial in areas with high energy prices.

5. Increased resiliency: CHP systems can help to increase the resiliency of a city's energy infrastructure, by providing backup power and heat during emergencies or other disruptions. This can help to reduce the impact of disasters and other events that may disrupt energy supplies.

I Hate to See Cooling Towers

 Cooling Towers! I hate to see Cooling Towers!!

"A Testimony to Waste" {approx 60% wasted Heat Energy to the Atmosphere!!} Just as my {then Children} will testify, in the mid 1990's as we traveled down the A1 at Ferrybridge {Power Station} - [now demolished]. 

But  it could have supplied a 'Heat Network' to the adjacent town of Knottingly - similar to the Battersea Power Station, that supplied Heat to the Pimlico Estate.

Coal, Gas, Oil or even Nuclear - all use Cooling Towers in respect of the steam turbines to drive the electricity generation: But the Carnot Cycle needs to revert the steam back into water

But the notion of "Centralised Power Generation remains - and there is the problem!

Cooling Towers at Electricity Generation Plant - Wasting Heat Energy

Net Zero [dogmatic agenda or viable policy] 

Combined with the DOGMA of "Net Zero", we have our energy {generation} crisis and insane price rises; and WHY?

Centralised Thinking with Centralised Planning.

Those buffoons in Government and OFGEN are planning to spend £20bn on "transmission infrastructure"

""In December [2022], Ofgem launched the Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment. This is around £20 billion of new investment in our transmission network – the major wires that carry our electricity across the country."

"This was largely based on the design laid out by the nascent system operator in advance – targeting the connection of the 50GW of offshore wind we expect to be built by 2030"

Jonathan Brearley's speech at the Institute for Government - Press release OFGEN 24th Jan 2023:

These guys are completely nuts - all this infrastructure spending to feed the grid with intermittent electricity!

Then we have government dogma as personified by the Net Zero concept - a great idea in theory but the implementation is a disaster! - as now obvious to those of us who have to pay for Electricity {and Gas for Heating} - with the UK being a Country in the Northern Hemisphere, kept artificially warmer by the "Gulf Stream" Effect! Which may be cooling down or collapsing - this would severely impact on the winters within the United Kingdom} 

But we still waste the majority of the {Heat} energy up those damn Cooling Towers to our atmosphere!!

Hardly conducive to a "net Zero" objective

""My recommendations are designed to make the most of this historic opportunity, covering the length and breadth of our economy, so that people in every part of the country can reap the benefits of this both in their communities, and in their pockets.""

Chris Skidmore MP Net Zero "Acolyte" {soon to be Skidrow}

""Chris studied History at Oxford, Chris is also a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries."" [Hmm, Zero Net Technical Background] - no offence, but??

However: the real solutions is far more CHP {Combined Heat and Power {Electricity}} - typically, Gas Engines {from the UK's extensive gas grid} to generate Electricity, but with a heat jacket to distribute Heat! {Principally suited to city centres, new buildings, housing estates, all Government Buildings, NHS Hospitals etc, etc. Now there are plenty of examples around the UK but, to date only about 860 MW of electricity generation {a drop in the Ocean of Our "Energy Mix"}

https://zeroenergysystems.org/qsir-utilities/inefficiency-of-centralised-generation

This is where £20bn would be better spent. AND it meets the concepts of Net Zero better than the current chaotic shambles of Centralised thinking and Electricity.

I really do hate Cooling Towers!

https://zeroenergysystems.org/chp/combined-heat-power-and-cooling

#energy #opportunity #electricity #investment #gas #economy #housing #infrastructure #hospitals #network