According to a recent guide issued by the US DOE, the USEPA, and the Dept of Housing & Urban Development, many critical building types should be able to generate their own power and, therefore, operate combined heat & power (CHP, also known as cogen or cogeneration). This is a great hedge for resiliency and maintaining operations, preventing the loss of critical data or other damage.

The guide: www1.eere.energy.gov/manufacturing/distributedenergy/pdfs/chp_for_reliability_guidance.pdf presents factors to consider when planning a CHP to operate in an emergency.

While most furnaces produce either hot water or electricity, CHP units produce both simultaneously from its combustion activity. Overall, this is a more efficient use of fuel than purchasing electricity from the grid and burning fuel on-site furnace for thermal energy, and provides a critical source of back-up power in case of a severe storm or other reason the utility cannot deliver electricity.

The report says that buildings that should consider using CHP include hospitals, water treatment/sanitary facilities, nursing homes, prisons, places of refuge, and certain multifamily housing. I can speak of this issue personally. My father lived in an assisted living home, and it lost power during an extreme heat wave, with no backup power. The staff worked extremely hard and the residents were severely stressed and impacted by being brought down the stairs in a hot, humid, dark building to waiting not-so-cool buses to take them to other appropriate buildings which had power. Properly operated CHP systems can effectively prevent a failure by the utility from impacting such facilities, resulting in continuity of critical and normal services, saving quite an inconvenience.

In order to operate during an electricity outage, CHP must have the following features:

1. Independent start capability: a CHP system needs to be able to start reliably when receiving an electrical signal from a battery or other non-grid source when the grid is down. Electricity generated must be kept from being exported to the grid; otherwise, there is safety issue for the utility workers trying to repair the power failure.

2. Appropriate generating capacity: The output of the CHP system must match the critical needs of the facility. During the design phase, the system must be sized to generate enough electricity for critical functions, such as medical, refrigeration, and certain equipment. CHP size limits means certain functions will not be maintained during an emergency. Decisions may be made based on building worst-case needs.

Of course, CHP is not cheap, may have a long payback, and needs dedicated, regular training and operation to ensure it will work in an emergency. But in preparing for the next “Sandy”, CHP may be invaluable to protect your equipment, data, and functions.

CCES has the experts to help you plan a CHP system or any other emergency or be more resilient. Contact us at karell@ccesworld.com or at 914-584-6720 today.