5. Cogeneration offers High Operational Efficiency than Conventional
Systems
Individuals willing to explore their career as electrical and mechanical engineers
should definitely possess good knowledge about different types of heat and power
systems prevailing in the industry.
Hence, with the help of this article, large numbers of Electrical and Mechanical
Engineering professors working under best engineering colleges in India have
explained about commonly used technique called as Cogeneration.
Overview and Function
Cogeneration also referred as combined power and heat system performs its
functions based on the concept of generating or producing twodifferent energy
forms via application of only one fuel source.
Out of the twodifferent forms of energy, as revealed by best engineering colleges in
India faculties, one should be of thermal or heat energy, while another one should be
of mechanical or electrical energy source.
Operating Principle and Fuel Used
Cogeneration serves as a reliable, optimum, clean and efficient means of using fuel.
Here, fuel can be of anything, such as oil, natural gas, wood, propane, butane and
coal and so on.
According to best engineering colleges in India experts, cogeneration
incorporates very simple and easy operating principle, which involves use of fuel to
generate electricity that produces heat, while the heat helps in boiling of water for
production of steam, heating space and in cooling of buildings.
Conventional Power Plant
If you look for the operation of a conventional power plant, you will observe burning
of fuel inside boiler device, which later on, leads to the production of steam at very
high pressure. Professionals use the generated steam for driving turbines, which in
turn remain connected with alternator and thereby, drive it for production of electric
energy.
Later on, exhaust steam goes into the condenser device, where cooling process takes
place and thereby, results in conversion to water. Furthermore, few percentage of the
water will return to produce electrical energy in higher rates.
Operational Efficiency Comparison
Lastly, Electrical and Mechanical engineers working under best engineering
colleges in India have compared operational efficiency of conventional power

6. plant with the cogeneration plant or station. Firstly, experts said that the efficiency of
any conventional type of power plant remains confined to about 35 percent.
On the other side, in case of cogeneration plant, steam of low pressure that comes
from the turbine does not condense to form water. Rather, one can consistently use it
for cooling or heating process in factories and buildings.
The reason for this is that low-pressure steam that comes from turbine steam
possesses high value of thermal energy. Therefore, cogeneration plants are available
with relatively high operational efficiency that is in the range of minimum 80 percent
to up to 90 percent. In India, cogeneration plants have power generation potential
value more than 20,000 Mega Watts approximately.