Energy, environmental and economic dynamic simulation of a micro-cogeneration system serving an Italian multi-family house

This work examines the operation of a residential building-integrated micro-cogeneration system during the heating season by means of a dynamic simulation software. A wide sensitivity analysis was carried out by considering the influence of the climatic conditions, the size of the combined storage tank and the micro-cogeneration device control logic. The energy, environmental and economic performances of the alternative system were analyzed according to the Italian scenario and compared with those of a conventional system based on separate energy production in order to estimate the potential benefits