Cogeneration provides useful forms of electrical power and heat

Cogeneration is the sequential use of a primary energy source to provide two useful forms of energy - electrical power and heat.

In the Hess Microgen systems, fuel such as natural gas or diesel is burned in an internal combustion engine to turn a generator, producing electricity. The combustion produces heat that, in most generating systems, is treated as waste and is carried by a coolant to a radiator and blown away as hot air.

Heat from a cogeneration engine is captured using the coolant (and even heat from the exhaust system) to heat water, a function that many customers are paying extra for by running a boiler or water heater.

The heated water can be used for space heating, as a hot water supply for food processing or cooking and even to heat pools and spas. A process called absorption air conditioning even allows the recovered heat to cool buildings.