In the quest for more sustainable energy practices, no technology is left out of the mix. For example, combined heat and power, also known as co-generation, has been around for many years, mostly in the domain of utilities and the industrial sector. Now, due to the need for greater efficiency and reliability, it is catching on in the commercial sector, too.


“Combined Heat and Power for Commercial Buildings,” a recent report by Boulder, Colo.-based research firm Navigant, projects robust growth in the coming years. It looks at the so-called comCHP market for a range of building applications, including hospitals, universities, hotels, casinos, airports and other small-to-medium distributed generation systems.


Combined heat and power systems produce electricity while capturing heat. The heat can be reused to warm the building, generate more electricity, or even cool the building when coupled with an absorption chiller.


According to Navigant, the market for this technology is garnering increased attention from policy-makers, utilities and building owners. Two factors driving the trend are the potential to save energy and power reliability for mission-critical operations, such as hospitals and data centers. Both factors are high priorities in today’s energy- and technology-driven environment.


Using such technology as turbines, reciprocating engines, fuel cells and Stirling engines, comCHP has the advantages of going online more quickly than traditional large centralized power stations, lessening demand pressure on the electrical grid and reducing inefficiencies that are common in centralized power generation, transmission and distribution systems.


Navigant anticipates that all of these factors will contribute to global growth in the industry. The report forecasts an expansion from 32.7 gigawatts of installed capacity in 2015 to 74.4 gigawatts by 2024. Revenue is also expected to grow from $3.5 billion to $14 billion in the same amount of time.