History of Cogeneration

Abstract

The practical use of cogeneration is as old as the generation of
electricity itself. When electrification of broad areas was devised to re-
place gas and kerosene lighting in residences and commercial facilities
the concept of central station power generation plants was born . District
heating systems were popular during the late 1800's and why not. Dis-
trict heating dates ba ck to Roman times when warm water was
circulated in open trenches to heat buildings and communal baths. Dis-
trict electrification dates back to Thomas Edison's plants in New York
and it didn 't take long to combine the two . The prime mo vers that drove
electric generators thro w off waste heat that is normally blo wn to atmo-
sphere. By capturing that heat and making low pressure steam that
steam could be piped throughout the district for heating home s and
bu sinesses. Thus, cogeneration on a fairly large scale was b orn .