Combined heat and power: Sizing plant for new hospitals

The market for combined heat and power (CHP) in the UK is being significantly restricted by the lack of a reliable sizing procedure for CHP in new buildings. This paper describes the approach taken to produce such a procedure for new build hospitals. The procedure is based around energy use profiles for existing hospital buildings and a requirement to minimise the input necessary to obtain a reliable sizing estimate. A computer program has been written which automates the procedure, and means that an initial sizing estimate can usually be reached within 20 minutes. The only aspect of the work not yet fully completed is an analysis of the error limits associated with the new technique. These are currently being assessed. Initial findings suggest that the procedure is at least as accurate as sizing techniques used for the installation of CHP in existing hospital buildings.