Existing CHP system

[JohannaBZ]

Dear Community,

I'd like to know if I already have a CHP installed and boilers, but I want to use the tool to evaluate a PV system. Do I need to activate the CHP option, or what do I need to do so that the system recognizes that I have an existing CHP system?

I really appreciate any help you can provide regarding this concern.

Thank you so much in advance.

[adfarth]

If interested just in the economics/other impacts of the PV system, one option would be to input your site's net load into REopt (net electricity supplied from the grid, after accounting for CHP generation). This could be either hourly net loads (which would be the most accurate) or monthly or annual net loads from e.g. the site's utility bills. If you do this, you would not need to model your CHP system. The analysis would evaluate the cost-optimal PV system to meet the remaining (net) site load.

The other option is to input the site's gross load (before accounting for CHP production) and to model the existing CHP system in REopt while using the model to optimize the PV system size. This would require also entering the site's heating loads, fixing the CHP system size to the actual size, and making sure the CHP assumptions align with the actual installed system. This will likely be significantly more work than the option above, but would be beneficial if for some reason you also want to evaluate the impacts of the CHP system.