Thermoeconomic analysis of a micro-CHP installation in a tertiary sector building through dynamic simulation

A thermoeconomic analysis has been applied to the annual operation of a micro-cogeneration installation in a tertiary sector building combining the capabilities of dynamic simulation with the thermoeconomic analysis. The SenerTec’s DACHS micro-cogeneration unit is considered integrated in a heating and domestic hot water installation, meeting the electric and thermal loads of a residential building. A six minute-based exergy analysis has been implemented in the TRNSYS v.16 thermal simulation software, while the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) has been developed to determine the cumulative exergy consumption of the different components of the plant. The thermoeconomic analysis of the micro-CHP installation is performed for its annual operation which includes the analysis of the entire system, considering the costs and exergy content of both flows and components. The relationship between the annual contribution to the costs of the components and the energy consumption has resulted equal to 34.2%. A combined production cost value has been defined and has been compared with the micro-CHP unit and the conventional production system, being 34.6 and 45.42 c€/kWhex respectively, underlying the opportunity that micro-CHP units provide in residential installations.