Parametric study of exergetic efficiency of a small-scale cogeneration plant incorporating a heat pump

A comparative parametric analysis is carried out of a small-scale combined heat and power plant incorporating a heat pump and the conventional system in which heat is produced in a hot water boiler and electrical energy is drawn from the power grid. Relative exergetic efficiency is defined as the quotient of exergetic (rational) efficiencies of the cogeneration plant and the related conventional system. Dependence of this efficiency on the power-to-heat ratio for chosen values of parameters characterizing the compared systems is calculated and shown pictorially.