Original scientific paper
ANALYSIS OF FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGIES FOR MICROCOGENERATION DEVICES IN THE HOUSEHOLDS AND SERVICE SECTOR
ŽELJKO TOMŠIĆ
orcid.org/0000-0002-4948-964X
; University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing
TOMO GALIĆ
Abstract
Present-day fuel cells for combined heat and power (CHP), even when fuelled
with natural gas, are a promising technology in residential and commercial sectors
because of their efficiency and carbon benefits. Using micro-cogeneration devices in
fuel cell technologies could play a significant role in reducing harmful emissions
into the environment in the building sector at a national level. This paper presents
different technological solutions for fuel cells in the building sector, and reviews
their applications and their technical characteristics. These characteristics are the
basis for their comparison with competitive low-carbon technologies. In addition, a
common benchmark for comparison of different technologies through appropriate
methodology is described, considering how these devices work when they are
connected to an electric power system, while using real data of comparable devices.
This paper presents evidence and methods required for comparison of fuel
cells with conventional systems for production of heat and electricity, as well as for
competing with low-carbon technologies. A common way to compare fuel cell
directly to heat pumps is developed, primarily through calculation of the equivalent
coefficient of energy efficiency. The intensity of carbon emissions from electricity
production is calculated using replacement methods, and a logical extension for
calculating the intensity of carbon emissions from production of thermal energy for
comparison to heat pumps is proposed.
Keywords
fuel cell; micro-cogeneration; households and service sector; combined heat and power
Hrčak ID:
213978
URI
Publication date:
15.9.2017.
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