The paper presents a modified algorithm for choosing the optimal coefficient of the share of cogeneration in district heating systems taking into account additional benefits concerning the promotion of highefficiency cogeneration and biomass cofiring. The optimal coefficient of the share of cogeneration depends first of all on the share of the heat required for preparing the hot tap water. The final result of investigations is an empirical equation describing the influence of the ratio of the heat flux for the production of hot tap water to the maximum flux for space heating and ventilation, as well as the share of chemical energy of biomass in the fuel mixture on the optimal value of the share of cogeneration in district heating systems. The approach presented in the paper may be applied both in back-pressure combined heat and power (CHP) plants and in extraction-condensing CHP plants.

The application of waste heat from exhaust gas of ship’s main engines has become widely practiced as early as in the 1930s. Thus the increase of ship’s overall efficiency was improved. Nowadays all newly built ships of the 400 gross tonnage and above must have specified energy efficiency design index, which is a measure for CO2 emissions of the ship and its impact on the environment. Therefore, the design of waste heat recovery systems requires special attention. The use of these systems is one of the basic ways to reduce CO2 emissions and to improve the ship’s energy efficiency. The paper describes the ship’s heating systems designed for the use of waste heat contained in the exhaust gas of self-ignition engines, in which the heat carriers are respectively water vapor, water or thermal oil. Selected results of comparative exergy analysis of simplified steam, water and oil heating systems have been presented. The results indicate that the oil heating system is comparable to the water system in terms of internal exergy losses. However, larger losses of exergy occur in the case of a steam system. In the steam system, a significant loss is caused by the need to cool the condensate to avoid cavitation in boiler feed pumps. This loss can in many cases cause the negative heat balance of ship during sea voyage while using only the exhaust gas boilers.

In this article, a comparison of economic effectiveness of various heating systems dedicated to residential applications is presented: a natural gas-fueled micro-cogeneration (micro-combined heat and power – μCHP) unit based on a free-piston Stirling engine that generates additional electric energy; and three so-called classical heating systems based on: gas boiler, coal boiler, and a heat pump. Calculation includes covering the demand for electricity, which is purchased from the grid or produced in residential system. The presented analyses are partially based on an experimental investigation. The measurements of the heat pump system as well as those of the energy (electricity and heat) demand profiles in the analyzed building were conducted for a single-family house. The measurements of the μCHP unit were made using a laboratory stand prepared for simulating a variable heat demand. The overall efficiency of the μCHP was in the range of 88.6– 92.4%. The amounts of the produced/consumed energy (electricity, heat, and chemical energy of fuel) were determined. The consumption and the generation of electricity were settled on a daily basis. Operational costs of the heat pump system or coal boiler based heating system are lower comparing to the micro-cogeneration, however no support system for natural gas-based μCHP system is included.