Packaged Gas Fired Cogeneration Systems Development for Fast Food Restaurants.Final Report (Aug 82-Jun 83)

A large number of applications exist in fast food restaurants (5000+ for McDonalds's alone) that could benefit from gas fired cogeneration systems. Typically, these applications have long operating hours with relatively constant electrical usage. Although design heating and cooling loads vary appreciably with geographical location, all stores have appreciable HVAC loads to support kitchen exhaust. The final report details the data gathering effort on 1, 000 McDonald stores, a 28 city building load simulation, the component selection, system design, and economic analysis. The selected system design was based on McDonald's standard 39x89 store and utilizes a 70 kW turbocharged Waukesha engine, 30-ton Hitachi chiller-heater, and a gas fired power burner for supplemental or backup heating and cooling. Annual savings range from $12,000 to more than $50,000, (based upon operation 19 hour/day, only when heating or cooling loads exist), depending heavily on climate and energy prices. The turnkey cost is projected at $127,700, but may displace up to $20,000 of current rooftop equipment. Reduction in cost and complexity of ancillaries, especially the chiller and related components, must be examined.