Policy Makers/Planners - Basics

Energy is the most significant driving force of our economy. All buildings need electric power for lighting and operating equipment and appliances. One of the major consumers of energy in buildings is the equipment for space conditioning. Most commercial and institutional buildings for businesses, education, and healthcare require space conditioning for cooling, heating, and/or humidity control.

Two-thirds of all the fuel used to make electricity in the U.S. is generally wasted by venting unused thermal energy, from power generation equipment, into the air or discharging into water streams. While there have been impressive energy efficiency gains in other sectors of the economy since the oil price shocks of the 1970's, the average efficiency of power generation within the U.S. has remained around 33% since 1960. The average overall efficiency of generating electricity and heat by conventional systems is around 51 percent.

Integrated systems for cooling, heating and power (CHP) systems significantly increase efficiency of energy utilization, up to 85%, by using thermal energy from power generation equipment for cooling, heating and humidity control systems. These systems are located at or near the building using power and space conditioning, and can save about 40% of the input energy required by conventional systems. In other words, conventional systems require 65% more energy than the integrated systems, as shown in the above diagram.

Commercial buildings, college campuses, hospital complexes, and government facilities are good candidates for benefiting from integrated systems for CHP for buildings.