Spain. Microcogeneration is an energy saving solution in the residential sector, which improves the efficiency of energy consumption in buildings by up to 90%, reduces the ecological impact, generating significant savings for the inhabitants, and is a mandatory measure since the entry into force of the Technical Building Code -CTE-, which regulates the basic quality requirements that Spanish buildings must meet.This technology allows to supply the two main energy demands in a home: electricity and heat in the form of domestic hot water (DHW), thanks to a centralized equipment. An example of application was given in a block of 97 homes in Barcelona, where a natural gas microcogeneration module capable of producing 5.5 kW of electricity and simultaneously 12.5 kW thermal was incorporated into the boiler room.
This installation included a solar thermal plant of 21 flat collectors with a total useful collection area of 53.13 m2 and an accumulation volume of 10 thousand liters. The solar installation would provide 63% of the estimated needs for the DHW service.
The microcogeneration equipment offers the possibility of regulation, since it starts and stops depending on the thermal needs of the building without generating surpluses in summer and without depending on the climate to produce energy, increasing the thermal contribution to supply the needs of heating and air conditioning, increasing savings.
