CHP Screening Tool

A preliminary assessment of the economic feasibility of CHP is the first step in evaluating whether CHP may be right for a specific facility. The CHP Screening Tool is an Excel-based tool for making this initial assessment, designed for users in the early stages of exploring a project. It can help project teams gain a better understanding of CHP and CHP’s potential value for their facilities.

The tool combines cost and performance data for commercially available CHP systems with annual energy consumption figures—whether historical load data for existing buildings or modeled loads for new buildings—to estimate the size and economic performance of a potential CHP system for a facility. Based on a small number of readily available user inputs, it provides estimates of the payback period and “CHP spark spread” (i.e., the difference between the all-in electric rate paid by the facility before CHP and the effective electric rate paid with CHP), as well as estimates of CHP equipment and installation costs and energy cost savings, for a CHP system sized in accordance with the subject facility’s energy loads.

The tool includes a detailed user manual, with guidance on interpreting results as well as using the tool.

Download the CHP Screening Tool.