Reliability & Quality
CHP improves power reliability and avoids costs due to power outages or degraded power quality.

CHP capable of operating in "island mode" may keep facilities online when regional electric power fails. Failure may be due to extreme circumstances such as a natural or manmade disaster, or due to more ordinary events, such as excessive peak demand.

Industrial and manufacturing facilities with high power demands and high value production streams are particularly sensitive to power outages. Direct, bottom line costs to US industrial facilities for power disruptions have been estimated at $120 to $190 Billion per year.1

Power disruptions can negatively impact operations by:1

• Slowing down or stopping production
• Reducing or ruining product quality
• Damaging equipment
• Increasing maintenance costs
• Increasing labor costs

To see a case study of how CHP can help during a disaster, go to Tale of Two Hospitals ().

These markets are also vulnerable to variations in power quality, such as voltage sags and spikes. Variations can reset or damage sensitive equipment, as well as increase maintenance and labor costs. CHP integrated into a facility's power-quality protection system can eliminate the need for separate backup diesel generators.

A continuously operating CHP unit can provide protection from even momentary sags and spikes. At the highest level of protection, CHP combined with UPS (uninterruptible power supply) can virtually eliminate power disruption concerns. A 2005 study modeling the time-between-disruption events using various distributed generation solutions, demonstrated a shift in estimated mean time between disruptions from several per year to an interval of 27 years using CHP with UPS.1 Keep in mind that these results are based on model assumptions, so it is important to carefully evaluate your specific project needs.

Before CHP is incorporated into a power quality system, thoughtful planning must be given to the interconnection design between the CHP and the utility grid, and if used, between the CHP and the UPS. Poor design can create entirely new power problems due to incompatibilities between system elements. These can be resolved, but careful thought must be given to the issue.

If you are considering CHP for your facility, be sure to factor in the benefits of having reliable, high quality power.