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  • From: "Kelly Finigan" <kfinigan@spots.ca>
  • To: john@eco-living.net, permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Cc:
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] energy futures
  • Date: Wed, 27 Aug 2003 13:41:33 -0700

Hi John:


> > "CHP" otherwise known as "cogeneration"...
>
> "What's in a name? A rose etc. etc..."

names can be confusing, especially when there's more than one...kind of like
common names for plants (argggh!)

>
> Thanks - I know of it by the "co-generation" term, I just didn't
> leap the terminological gap. It may well have heated my room (and
> most everyone else's nearby) when I was living in Sweden in '83-'84.


did you like the way it worked? an important point about the efficiency
numbers that are quoted for CHP/district heating/co-gen is: good efficiency
only occurs when the heat is being used, for example in winter when
biuldings are cold. In summer, when there is no demand ("heat load" in
technical terms), the "combined" advantage is lost and the system efficiency
reverts to that of the electricity generation on its own - about 30% or so...

>
> > However: you need a USEFUL way to use the heat and a way to get it
> > there...
> <snip>
> > ...if: there is an electricity plant IN your town and
> > a "matching" heat requirement nearby ....
>
> I think, like biodiesel, and some geothermal, it's a technology of
> local/transitional opportunity. Great if it meets all parameters for
> maximizing systemic efficiency; otherwise, not.
>
EXACTLY...I'm glad others understand this!!! This is why I push for: smart
design, not too big, be efficient, use passive solar/wind, then top up with
the BEST external energy source available locally (this will depend on many
factors, but may be district heat, your own wood stove, etc).

ciao,
Kelly





> John Schinnerer - MA, Whole Systems Design
> ------------------------------------------
> - Eco-Living -
> Cultural & Ecological Designing
> People - Place - Learning - Integration
> john@eco-living.net
> http://eco-living.net
> _______________________________________________
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> permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/permaculture



--
Kelly Finigan, M.Sc. P.Eng. Permaculture Designer
~ Sustainability consultant & ecological designer ~

744 - 4 Street NW
Calgary, Alberta T2N 1P2
phone 1-403-283-7270





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