What is combined heat and power (CHP)?

Generating both heat and power locally with CHPs

Working on the principle of combined heat and power, cogeneration units produce both electrical power and usable heat. This uses some 90 % of the heat available from the fuel consumed, saving significant amounts of primary energy and CO₂ emissions. The energy is produced exactly where it is required, thus avoiding transport losses. That makes cogeneration units highly efficient and climate-friendly.

Numerous fields of application

A significant factor in the choice of energy generation is the costs of heat and electricity. The use of a cogeneration unit offers huge advantages here: low operating costs and rapid amortisation. With the use of combined heat and power, they are suitable anywhere that electrical power and heat are needed at the same time:

Trade and industry
Hospitals
Schools and educational establishments
Care homes for the elderly and others
Sawmills
Swimming pools
Hotels
Office and administrative buildings
Large housing complexes and heat distribution networks

Read more about the numerous fields of application at our references.

Combined heat and power from wood or natural gas

We have been successful in the CHP sector since 2004 and have installed over 465 cogeneration plants in Germany, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, England, Luxembourg, Switzerland and in Japan. We started by using vegetable oil as fuel and constantly continued to develop our products. Today we offer, our state-of-the-art woodgas CHP ECO 50 HG. CHP ECO 220, ECO 495 run on wood pellets and the cogeneration units with natural gas.

Learn more about the Burkhardt biomass power plants in our broschure „Heat and Power with wood pellets“ (PDF, 3.2 MB) or "Heat and Power from woodchips" (PDF, 1.3 MB).

For more information about out natural gas cogeneration, see our brochure "Cogeneration with gas" (PDF, 1.4 MB)