Phoenix Contact has received a 2015 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence for its combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) system. This is the second year in a row that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recognized Phoenix Contact for a project that promotes environmental stewardship and economic development.
The CCHP went online last spring as part of a major expansion at Phoenix Contact’s U.S. headquarters. It generates enough electricity to power the company’s Lower Swatara Township facility approximately 65 percent of the time. It is composed of five 200 kilowatt Capstone microturbines, packaged in a single container, a 300-ton exhaust-fired absorption chiller and a 5,000-BTU heat exchanger. The thermal dynamics of the facility drive the turbines, which can generate up to one megawatt of electricity.
The system can also heat and/or cool the facility, independent of external sources. As the turbines generate energy, they vent the exhaust heat byproduct through either the building’s absorption chiller or its heat exchanger to regulate the temperatures of the building’s chilled and hot water supplies. That demand will determine how much electricity the system will generate, while reducing the amount of waste Phoenix Contact produces.
The CCHP is one of 15 projects to receive the award in 2015. DEP honored the winners at a dinner in Harrisburg on Tuesday, April 28. In 2014, DEP recognized Phoenix Contact’s Sunplug solar-powered charging station for electric vehicles.
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