Evaluation and analysis of CCHP-ORC system for different buildings in Shanghai

To evaluate and analyze the combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) system with organic Rankine cycle (ORC), a linear optimal model was proposed to optimize the rated capacities and operational strategies of the energy system with relevant constraints and the traditional separate power (SP) system as the reference. The primary energy consumption, annual total cost and carbon dioxide emissions were chosen for the performance index, which construct the comprehensive objective function. Five kinds of building in Shanghai were studied. The results show that compared with SP system, even though by using CCHP system the comprehensive performance could be enhanced for the commercial building and the office building with low ratio of heat to power demand. A mass of thermal energy from internal combustion engine could also be wasted in spring or autumn, but the situation could be improved apparently by adding an ORC system. On the other hand, less contribution could be made by ORC to enhance the comprehensive performance for the CCHP system if it was used in the hotel or hospital with high ratio of heat to power demand.