Can a CHP System Integrate Cooling?

If you think your combined heat and power (CHP) system is just for lights and boilers, think again. Today’s commercial and industrial facilities aren’t just looking to keep the lights on; they want efficiency, resilience, and year-round comfort. CHP systems can be integrated with specialty equipment like boilers and absorption chillers, turning waste heat into chilled water for cooling or useful heat for processes. This approach gives larger buildings and industrial sites innovative ways to stay comfortable and efficient. More than electricity and heat, CHP systems are adaptable systems designed to meet your facility’s unique needs.

Beyond Heat: The Cool Factor

Traditional CHP systems capture waste heat from a single fuel source and put it to use for heating, hot water, or industrial processes. However, if you’re running a facility, such as a hospital, data center, or manufacturing plant, there are additional options. 

By linking a cogeneration system to an absorption chiller, buildings can use recovered heat to generate chilled water for air conditioning or specialized cooling processes. 

It works like this: 

• An absorption chiller connects to the “waste” heat stream from your CHP system. 

• That recovered heat is turned into chilled water, ready to flow through your air handling units or cooling coils. 

• No extra fuel is burned, allowing your system to simultaneously provide electricity, heat, and cooling from the same input. 

Who Are the Best Candidates?

CHP systems are especially valuable in buildings where cooling is critical year-round, not just a summer luxury: 

• Hospitals need dependable, efficient cooling for patients, medical equipment, and continuous operations. 

• Data centers run hot and require stable, non-stop cooling to prevent costly downtime. 

• Hotels experience seasonal spikes in cooling demand and must ensure guest comfort. 

• Manufacturing plants and industrial facilities can recover process heat and use it to power chillers. 

• Museums need precise temperature and humidity control to protect valuable artwork and sensitive exhibits. 

For these facilities, using recovered heat for cooling can lower electricity bills during the peak summer months while boosting overall system efficiency. 

Efficiency, Cost Savings, and Resilience

The benefits of cogeneration go beyond just adding air conditioning. These systems can reach overall energy efficiencies of up to 90%—far above the average 36% typical at central power plants. This means less fuel is consumed per unit of energy delivered, reducing operating costs. This is not only efficient for your business, but also for your pockets, too. 

By producing electricity, heat, and chilled water on-site, facilities also reduce demand on the grid during peak summer periods. Additionally, absorption chillers operate more quietly than conventional compressor-driven units 

Additional benefits of absorption chillers include: 

• You also gain on-site resilience: chilled water and backup power keep your operation running and comfortable through grid disruptions. 

Ready to Take the Next Step?

For facilities where cooling represents a significant portion of energy use, CHP could be the missing piece. Curious if your site is a fit? Our team of Energy Experts can walk you through system sizing, technical fit, and more—with no upfront costs.