Fuel cells as CHP systems in commercial buildings: a case study for the food retail sector

Abstract

This study investigates fuel cells as combined heat and power systems (CHPs) for distributed applications in commercial buildings, specifically supermarkets. Up-to-date technical data from a specialized manufacturing company wasinvestigated and used to conduct a case study analysis on several food retail buildings using half-hourly historical data. A detail mathematical model, described in previous publications (Cedillos et al. 2016, Achaet al.2018), was used to simulate the performance of fuel cells through a year of operation in each supermarket. The simulations employ comprehensive energy market costing data and practical informationto evaluate project feasibility such as installation workcosts. The results of the simulations are discussed and a techno-economic assessment is conducted to evaluate the main factors affecting the economics of fuel cell projects.In addition, a comparative analysis with competing CHP technologies (internal combustion engines) is covered. Results show that fuel cells are becoming financially competitivealthough combustion engines are still amoreviableoption. For large-size supermarketsthe payback time forinstalling a fuel cell system is 4.7-5.6years versus 3.6-5.6years for internal combustion engines. The work alsodiscusses the prospects of fuel cells under different market and policy scenariosas well astechnologicalimprovements; thus,offering insights in what are the key aspects which can foster fuel cell installations