Assessing the impact of micro chp on gas and electricity distribution networks

In the cold-climate countries such as the UK, micro Combined Heat and Power (micro CHP) has become a newly sustainable prospect that can provide a significant proportion of energy needs for domestic properties. While a conventional boiler can only supply heat and hot water, a micro CHP unit allows the utilisation of the readily available gas delivered to houses in order to produce heat, hot waster as well as electricity as its by-product, which potentially increases the households energy efficiency. This approach also brings in a range of benefits such as reductions in electricity bills, CO2 emissions, and transmission losses. However, the widespread utilisation of micro CHP can also affect the existing electricity and gas distribution networks (DNs). To ensure the security and reliability of these networks, as well as to maximise the deployment of micro CHP, this work will analyse and evaluate the potential technical impacts on both networks.