Cogeneration Energy Systems Show Promising Market Potential in Residential and Commercial Sector over Next Twenty-Five Years

摘要

Under its energy conservation programs, the US Department of Energy has been actively involved in the research and development of cogeneration systems to meet energy demands in the residential and commercial sectors. The underlying research was initiated by the Department of Energy to estimate market penetration of cogeneration systems over the next 25 years. The cogeneration systems analyzed in the study include: Central District Heating systems, Distributed Cogeneration/Electric Utility Grid-connected Systems, and Distributed Total Energy Systems. The residential and commercial markets that could be served by these cogeneration sytems include energy demands for space heating, water heating, air conditioning, refrigeration, lighting, cooling, appliances, etc. The market potential of various cogeneration systems was estimated by using an econometric and probabilistic methodology. Research has shown that the cogeneration systems residential/commercial market penetration could result in annual scarce-fuel savings of 1.5 to 1.9 quads by the year 2004. (ERA citation 08:026570)