Skip to main content

Family University Path

Combined heat and power plant

↓ Directly to more information, ideas and tips, click here

Combined heat and power plants produce hot water and electricity at the same time. To do this, fuels such as natural gas are fed into the so-called combustion engine, which drives the electricity generators. The generators in turn then produce electrical energy. During this process, the engines produce heated cooling water and hot exhaust gases, which then ensure that the water in apartments, for example, is kept warm. You can take a closer look at the process in the illustration.

The university has had a combined heat and power plant since 2016. During the lecture-free period, there is not too much going on at the university. Accordingly, the demand for electricity and heat is quite low and can be partly covered by the cogeneration plant. The solar panels on campus also generate electricity. The two energy producers share the work, so to speak: during the summer, the solar plants are the main power generators, and in the winter, the cogeneration plant steps in and replaces the missing energy.


More information, ideas and tips