Title: Residential cogeneration of heat and power: a promising way to sustainability, a challenging field for tutors

Authors: John Gelegenis; Petros Axaopoulos

Addresses: Department of Energy Technology Engineering, Technological Educational Institute of Athens, Ag. Spyridonos Street, 12210 Athens, Greece ' Department of Energy Technology Engineering, Technological Educational Institute of Athens, Ag. Spyridonos Street, 12210 Athens, Greece

Abstract: Cogeneration issues are usually covered only partially in engineering curricula in the frame of core courses, while a course dealing exclusively with cogeneration is rarely offered. Nevertheless, the evolution of cogeneration technology and at the same time the important potential of its residential application, which is instigated through the development of distributed generation, introduces new topics on the subject regarding: the prime mover, the efficient coverage of variable loads, and the integration of cogeneration into the local energy system and into the electrical network. This work documents a framework for the specification of a modern module entirely devoted to cogeneration. Respective educational initiatives that tutors may develop are highlighted and the relevant experience gained at the authors' institute from the operation of a dedicated cogeneration course, is analysed.

Keywords: engineering education; residential cogeneration; distributed generation; energy management; sustainability; higher education; combined heat and power; CHP; sustainable development; teaching modules; cogeneration courses.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHES.2015.073461

International Journal of Higher Education and Sustainability, 2015 Vol.1 No.1, pp.19 - 39

Received: 20 Mar 2015
Accepted: 07 May 2015
Published online: 09 Dec 2015 *

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