Publication date: 
2020/11/10
The development project of the WAVE 120 microelectric power plant taking place at the University Center for Energy Efficient Buildings of the Czech Technical University has significantly approached the phase of its real application on the market. Official measurements confirmed that the device has reached the parameters needed to obtain the so-called Ecodesign and can be installed virtually throughout the European Union.

The WAVE 120 microelectric power plant meets all the requirements contained in the EU Commission Regulation for biomass cogeneration units. Ecodesign represents a set of parameters (especially energy efficiency) that must be observed by the supplier (manufacturer or importer) of a product related to energy consumption when placing it on the EU market, or into operation. The intention of the legislation is to support the expansion of the most efficient technologies and thus reduce energy consumption during the use phase of the product.

 

The WAVE microcogeneration plant can easily be imagined as a fully automatic biomass boiler with associated electricity production. While conventional boilers consume electricity for their operation, the WAVE unit generates electricity for its operation and is able to supply excess electricity to the connected building or distribution network. 

 

The whole concept is known as combined heat and power (CHP), or cogeneration or small-scale microcogeneration. The advantage of CHP is that part of the thermal energy released by burning biomass is used for conversion to a more qualitatively valuable form - electricity. Electricity generation is realized through the organic Rankine cycle (ORC), which is cooled by heating water intended for heating.

The development of the WAVE 120 microelectric power plant was supported by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic within the project ‘Cogeneration ORC unit with a heat output of 120 kW on wood chips in a container design’.