The Design and Commissioning of a Micro-cogeneration Testing Facility

The simultaneous production of heat and electricity onsite to serve residential loads can potentially yield a reduction in operating costs, primary energy use and related emissions over traditional technologies which meet these loads separately. Proper sizing and operation of units along with their required buffering and auxiliary systems are critical to the realization of both economical and environmental performance objectives. Further research is required to develop strategies to integrate micro-cogeneration technologies into Canadian residences as issues related to device type, capacity, design of balance of plant components, and controls remain largely unresolved.;Building performance simulation is a highly flexible, and time-efficient method to systematically explore and evaluate different design options; however, the validity of the conclusions resulting from simulation based studies are dependent on the accuracy and reliability of the models employed. In order to support ongoing research relating to micro-cogeneration technologies through simulation based activities, a facility capable of subjecting units to controlled electrical and thermal loading was designed and commissioned to collect performance data suitable for device-specific model calibration. The facility can also be configured to provide realistic thermal and electrical loading to complete micro-cogeneration systems including thermal storage and auxiliary heating to evaluate the performance of complete systems. It provides a platform to experimentally investigate appropriate configurations to integrate units into residences through variations in the balance of plant components and control strategies.;This thesis describes the design of the facility including its hardware, instrumentation, data acquisition and controls systems. Also described are experiments that were conducted during the commissioning phase to assess system level performance, to identify and correct hardware integration issues, and to determine the physical limitations of the hydraulic test facility.