NOx Emissions Impacts from Widespread Deployment of CHP in ...

2.0. Commercial and Institutional Buildings
NOx Emissions Report
Many commercial and institutional facilities, because of their energy use profiles and
needs, are potential candidates for CHP adoption. In particular, hospitals and hotels offer
some of the greatest potential for CHP due to their need for hot water. Schools, office
buildings, and large retail facilities can also be good CHP prospects, although typically
with somewhat longer payback periods.
To estimate the potential NOx emissions impact from implementation of CHP across the
commercial and institutional building stock in HGB, the existing building stock was
evaluated and screened for CHP potential. A combination of general industry guidelines
combined with computer modeling was used to determine the building types suitable for
CHP and to estimate the size and configuration of the CHP system. Only those buildings
thought to offer reasonable technical and financial justification to adopt CHP were
considered in the study. The methodology used in the study includes the following steps:
• Survey and analyze the existing HGB building stock
• Select building types with reasonable CHP potential
• Establish prototypical building types and characteristics for selected buildings
• Model building energy use for baseline and CHP cases (multiple operating
scenarios)
• Estimate a range of NOx emissions impacts expected for each prototype
• Estimate total NOx impact by considering the existing building type count
A detailed description of the methodology including models, tools, databases,
assumptions, and scenarios used in the analysis is provided below.
2.1 Identifying Candidate Facilities
The identification of building types and facilities potentially suitable for CHP system
development required a survey and analysis of the commercial and institutional building
stock in HGB. The building stock was broadly considered and screened for CHP
viability. Those building types that met the following criteria were selected for further
analysis:
• The building type exhibited technical and operating requirements that are
generally thought to provide reasonable justification in support of CHP
development
• The building type exists in sufficient numbers in the HGB region such that a
penetration of CHP systems would generate a meaningful impact
Commercial and institutional buildings within the greater Houston region were initially
identified by examining the 2006 infoUSA Business/Employer database for the region.
The database, which is licensed to the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) and its
Geographic Data Committee (GDC), of which HARC is a member, is the most up-to-date
and comprehensive database of area businesses. It contains detailed information on more
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