Imagine investing your hard earned money into a project only to have to wait decades or even longer before seeing a return on your investment (ROI). Or worst of all, imagine never seeing a return and instead losing money! Sadly, this is a reality for many business owners and project managers who were looking for an environmentally friendly, alternative to solve their electrical issues. Fortunately, this not the case with Cogeneration or CHP (Combined Heat and Power).
Cogeneration is the simple process of burning a fuel and using the energy produced from that combustion to create both electricity and thermal energy. Thermal energy is created from the captured combustion that is returned into the building’s hot water system, cooling system and more. Because of CHP’s extremely effective and efficient system, our client’s have seen a reduction in utility costs by as much as 85%!
Due to these savings and other factors, mentioned below, you’ll see why CHP offers the fastest ROI when compared to other electricity producing systems.
CHP Offers a Faster ROI Than Other Power Producers
All energy systems available to us today require a considerable investment upfront. As a result of this initial investment, many business owners are wary to change their current systems if they aren’t able to see the return on their investment fast enough. But CHP is offers something more than the “other guys” can. For example, both solar and wind are wonderful sources of energy as long as the sun is shining and the wind is blowing, however even then, they still are not able to carry the current base load energy demand. Combined heat and power can efficiently create enough energy required, plus some. Let’s explore how this is possible.
Businesses and/or projects that require thermal energy usually install commercial boilers. Commercial boilers are efficient as sources of heat production, but they don’t add any additional value or ROI to the project.
An alternative route would be to use Solar power, although if the sun isn’t shining, which is a little more than half the time in most areas, it’s not working. The same can be said of wind power, if it’s not windy or if it’s too windy, they won’t produce much usable energy as discussed by Frank Graff from UNC-TV “ Some of the new generation of wind turbines can work at lower wind speeds, generally about five miles per hour. However these turbines are generally smaller, don’t generate as much energy, and are not designed to withstand higher wind ranges.
Most of what you would call large-scale wind turbines typically start turning in winds of seven to nine miles per hour. Their top speeds are around 50-55 mph, which is their upper safety limit. Large-scale wind turbines normally have a braking system that kicks in around 55 mph to prevent damage to the blades.” Plus, many wind turbines require an electric kick start to overcome the inertia of turning the blades!
Due to their finicky nature, both solar and wind power should be considered as supplementary energy sources, rather than a central energy source.
On the other hand, CHP offers nonstop energy production independent of weather or time of day. Once you install a CHP system designed by Highland West Energy for your business or project you will begin to see the added value almost immediately. A cogeneration system increases the overall value by supplying utility savings from a reliable combined heat and power source that is self- reliant and seperate from the grid.
Once you have a CHP system installed, all the electricity and thermal energy you could ever need is produced on site. Since electricity is produced on site, the added cost and power lost from transmission loss, does not apply here. Not only does this decrease your utility costs by up to 85%, in some projects investors were able to eliminate the need for third-party electricity producers, consequently enabling them to produce 100% of all power and heat required, on site. In just a few years, investors are able to see a return on investment, which in the energy realm is a big deal.
Notably, some projects were able to produce so much energy, they actually exceeded their electrical and thermal energy needs. This means that in addition to generating 100% of electrical needs, you can actually sell the electricity created by your CHP system back to the utility company, thus created yet another source of income for your business.
For more information on how you can start saving and start earning money with a Highland West Energy CHP system, contact us today or fill out our free savings assessment to see the benefits of switching to combined heat and power.