Thermal Science and Engineering Progress 44 (2023) 102042

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Thermal Science and Engineering Progress

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Compact automatic controlled internal combustion engine cogeneration

system based on natural gas with waste heat recovery from the
combustion process
Tomáš Pawlenka a, *, Martin Juránek a, Pavel Klaus a, Marek Beseda a, Michal Buráň a,
Miroslav Suchánek a, Petr Sehnoutka a, Jiří Kulhánek b
a
Faculty of Materials Science and Technology, Department of Materials and Technologies for Vehicles, VSB – Technical University of Ostrava, 708 00, Czechia
b
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Control Systems and Instrumentation, VSB – Technical University of Ostrava, 708 00, Czechia

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: This paper is related to cogeneration, or combined heat and power systems (CHP) and its development, which is
Cogeneration system based on an already used and low-cost internal combustion engine ICE with a fuel system redesigned for the
Combustion engine injection of natural gas. The main role of this system is heating and electricity production and is mainly designed
Energy storage
for small or medium-sized households or family houses. Heat is recovered from the engine’s cooling circuit and
Waste heat recovery
its exhaust system using a special exhaust heat exchanger. The entire process is automatically controlled to keep
Electric generator
Natural gas the output heat transfer fluid at the required temperature and to keep the engine temperature within the
operating range. This fluid is then used for heating the building or domestic hot water DHW. As a power gen­
eration unit - PGU, a three-phase asynchronous motor with the power of 12.5 kW was used. The theoretical
charging current can be around 400 A. Part of the development is the design of control loops, which are
implemented in the main control system. This control system can be connected to a smart home energy man­
agement system SHEMS and is designed for fully automatic operation. The functionality of all operating states
and conditions was supported by testing and measurements. The paper includes an analysis of the energy balance
from testing and measurements. The maximum overall efficiency of the CHP can reach up to 87% in operation
mode, with a heating power output of 15 kW and an electrical power output of 4 kW.

cogeneration units [2,3].

Introduction
Important topics in today’s modern technical world include electri­
fication and all technologies that lead to improved ecology and envi­
ronmental protection. These topics affect not only the industry but also
ordinary citizens, who are under increasing pressure to invest in clean
energy sources. These are slowly replacing solid fuel boilers and thus
increasing the demand for heat pumps, cogeneration units and photo­
voltaic power plants, for example [1]. The aim of this effort is also to
ensure at least partial energy self-sufficiency of households.
One of the clean energy sources is natural gas, which is considered a
renewable resource and is also considered the cleanest and most envi­
ronmentally friendly in terms of fossil fuels. Its use is increasing, not only
in households but also in ICE internal combustion engines. In the
automotive industry, it is most commonly used in compressed form as
CNG. Its use is also widespread in combustion engine based
Review of ICE and natural gas based CHP units
The main component of a cogeneration unit is an internal combus­
tion engine ICE, which can generate electricity by driving an electric
motor or using heat from cooling in a certain way. A similar ICE-based
solution is described in the contribution by Stetina et al. [4], where
they use a vehicle CNG engine from Skoda in their model of a cogene­
ration system. Their discussion concerned the use of aged components to
minimize acquisition costs and accelerate economic returns and deter­
mine the engine service life. The research paper of Arbabi et al. [5]
describes a simulation model of an internal combustion engine and also
made an economical evaluation of small ICE in combined heat and
power systems CHP. As already mentioned, there is an increasing
emphasis on ecology. For this reason, natural gas engines are currently
increasingly used. Also, the investigation of Asaee et al. [6] describes the

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: tomas.pawlenka@vsb.cz (T. Pawlenka).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsep.2023.102042
Received 17 March 2023; Received in revised form 12 June 2023; Accepted 29 July 2023
Available online 29 July 2023
2451-9049/© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
T. Pawlenka et al. Thermal Science and Engineering Progress 44 (2023) 102042

Nomenclature y Output variable

ΔQ˙ The difference in the heat flow [W]
cA Specific heat capacity of substance A [ J.kg− 1.K− 1] ΔtA,ΔtA_EXH, ΔtA_ICE Difference between the input and output
cB Specific heat capacity of substance B [ J.kg− 1.K− 1] temperature of substance A on the different heat
e Control error exchangers [K]
I Generated current [A] ΔtB Difference between input and output temperature of
LHVf The lower heating value of fuel [MJ.kg] substance B [K]
kP Proportional gain ηCHP The overall efficiency of the CHP [%]
m˙A, m˙B Mass fluxes of substances A and B [kg.s− 1] ηPGU Generator efficiency [%]
m˙f Mass flow of fuel [kg.h− 1] ω Angular speed [rad.s− 1]
Mb_PGU Braking torque of the generator [Nm] φTV Throttle valve angle [◦ ]
MT_ICE Torque of the ICE [Nm]
MT_PGU Torque of the PGU [Nm] Abbreviations
n Rotational speed [min− 1] BMS Battery Management System
PE_OUT_CHP The overall output energy of the CHP [kW] CAN Controller Area Network
PM_IN_ICE Engine input power [kW] CHP Combined Heat and Power
PM_OUT_ICE Engine output power [kW] CNG Compressed Natural Gas
PEL_IN_PGU Electrical power supplied [kW] DHW Domestic Hot Water
PEL_OUT_PGU Electrical power consumed [kW] EES Electric Energy Storage
PQ_CHP Overall thermal power of the CHP [kW] EV Electric Vehicle
PQ_EXH Thermal power of the exhaust gases [kW] FH Family House
PQ_ICE Thermal power of the ICE [kW] ICE Internal Combustion Engine
PZ_CHP The overall energy loss of the CHP [kW] NG Natural Gas
Q˙A, Q˙B Heat fluxes of the substances A and B [W] PEV Plug-in Electric Vehicle
QZ Heat loss to the environment [W] PGU Power Generation Unit
TD Derivative time constant PHEV Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle
TI Integral time constant PID Proportional-Integral-Derivative
u Manipulated variable PWM Pulse-Width Modulation
U Generated voltage [V] RB Residential Building
w Setpoint SHEMS Smart Home Energy Management System

positive impact of these CHP systems in terms of emissions. However,
diesel engines are still used a lot for their efficiency at lower speeds. An
example of a cogeneration solution with a diesel engine is described in
an article by Olmos-Villalba et al. [7], where the electricity produced
and the heat from the exhaust are used to dry aromatic herbs. An
interesting and more ecological solution is described by Capaldi [8],
where an automotive diesel engine converted to natural gas is used as an
internal combustion engine. He also managed to find out that the use of
smaller turbocharger results in higher achievable pressure and flow
under given operating conditions. Another example of the imple­
mentation of cogeneration is described by Nayak et al. [9]. Their system
also uses a natural gas-based generator that can supply 75 kW of elec­
tricity to the building. However, the waste heat is not used here to heat
the building but is used for an air dehumidification system for air con­
ditioning. Another solution is described in the article by Xie et al. [10],
where the system with two natural gas engines is designed. One is
connected to the generator and the other is used to control the heat
pump compressor. An example of the architecture of these systems from
a point of view of control is described in an article written by Renjit et al.
[11]. In other studies and technological designs of ICE-based CHP units,
there is usually an attempt to use alternative fuels that are environ­
mentally friendly or renewable, such as ethanol, biogas, biodiesel or
partially propane. For example, in the case of the CHP system described
by Chen et al. [12], they use biodiesel.
Other studies focus on energy consumption and the economic aspect
[13,14]. The paper by Paepe et al. [15] compares several micro­
generation system designs in terms of electricity and heat consumption.
In this study, the authors evaluated the Stirling engine [16] as the best
for use in these systems. The evaluation of microgeneration systems in
terms of energy efficiency and emissions is also outlined in the papers by
Dorer and Weber [17] and Lombardi et al. [18]. They use simulation
models to evaluate these parameters in different households. In the
following study, Valdés and Leon [19] discuss the cogeneration process
and compare the advantages and disadvantages of using an internal
combustion engine versus a gas turbine. They found that the gas turbine
system achieves much better results.
It is clear from the presented studies and their results that there are
many technological solutions for these CHP systems [20].
Contribution and novelty
This paper will therefore focus on the development of a small and
compact CHP system based on a natural gas internal combustion engine
that could be used in modern households to produce electricity and use
waste heat for heating the building or domestic hot water. The whole
system will be tested with the already developed SHEMS [21–24], which
includes the main control unit and battery storage. The photovoltaic
panels are then connected to the battery storage via a DC/DC converter.
In combination with SHEMS, this system can therefore also act as a
temporary backup power supply in case of power failure. The motiva­
tion for this development is the increased energy savings of today’s
households and buildings in the context of the already mentioned
electrification, the reduction of CO2 emissions and the increasing
pressure on electromobility [25,26]. Another motivation is to minimize
overall production costs by using already used automotive components.
The main advantages of this technical solution lie in the fact that the
combustion of natural gas produces electricity while using waste heat.
The developed system is also compact and easy to integrate into the
existing infrastructure. The main novelty compared to conventional CHP
systems is the automatic operation based on the control of the produced
current and also the possibility to control the ICE speed over a wide
range in case of higher load. Another advantage of the control system is
the possibility to communicate with the conventional BMS unit of the
connected electric vehicle. This allows the batteries of the connected

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T. Pawlenka et al. Thermal Science and Engineering Progress 44 (2023) 102042

Fig. 1. Use of CHP unit within the SHEMS.

Fig. 2. Functional block diagram of the developed CHP system.

vehicle to be connected and directly charged in the range from 36 to 96
V. Thus, there is no additional energy loss caused by an additional AC/
DC converter. Since this proposed solution or technology is very
compact, it could also be implemented in an electric vehicle as a range
extender.
CHP system structure
The structure of the cogeneration system consists of a motorcycle
petrol engine from Kawasaki Versys KLE650. It has two cylinders with a
volume of 650 ccm. As already mentioned, to reduce emissions, the
engine’s fuel system has been redesigned for operation based on com­
pressed natural gas. Its advantages also lie in simplicity, compactness,
and availability. As an electricity generator, the three-phase asynchro­
nous motor Schwarz AKOE 132 was used. The principle and purpose of
the cogeneration use are outlined in Fig. 1. It describes the deployment
of the developed cogeneration unit within the smart home energy
management system SHEMS, which was also developed at our univer­
sity. However, the main topic of this article is limited to the development
of the cogeneration unit itself.
Fig. 2 contains a block diagram that describes the principle of our
cogeneration unit. The basis is an internal combustion engine operated
on CNG, which can generate electricity through an electric motor and
thus charge the connected batteries. The exhaust system of an ICE is
further divided into two branches due to heat recovery. One branch is
used for the direct outlet of exhaust gases. In the second branch, the
gases are sent through an exhaust heat exchanger, which transfers heat
to the ICE coolant. It is possible to switch between these two branches
using motorized exhaust valves [27]. The cooling circuit of the ICE also
consists of two branches, which can be switched using solenoid valves.

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T. Pawlenka et al.
Fig. 3. Developed compact CHP unit with component layout.
Fig. 4. Performance characteristics of the Kawasaki CNG engine in the oper­
ating speed range of the cogeneration system.
Fig. 5. Comparison of performance when operating on CNG and petrol.
One branch is used for direct cooling using a radiator with a fan that
sucks in fresh air from outside. The second branch contains two heat
exchangers. As already mentioned, the coolant is driven through the
exchanger on the exhaust pipeline and subsequently through the
exchanger, which further transfers heat to the home heating circuit. The
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Thermal Science and Engineering Progress 44 (2023) 102042
Fig. 6. Map of engine torque as a function of different speeds and throttle
valve angles.
system designed in this way thus makes it possible to use not only the
waste heat from the cooling circuit of the ICE but also from the exhaust
system. Since all branches are electronically controlled, the operating
modes can be combined in various ways. The system also includes
several sensors. The CNG pressure is monitored using a manometer on
the inlet pipeline. The engine cooling circuit and the home heating
circuit contain temperature sensors at the inputs and outputs of the in­
dividual components, and each is equipped with its flowmeter. Another
important sensor is the Hall probe for measuring the electric current
flowing into or out of the battery system. The final solution of the
developed CHP is described in Fig. 3
Power characteristics of the ICE and PGU
Before connecting the ICE and generator, both of these systems were
tested and measured separately on a hydrodynamic engine brake. The
graph in Fig. 4 shows the performance characteristics of the gas engine
for the operating speed range of the CHP system. The maximum
measured power was 31 kW and the maximum torque was around 42
Nm. However, these values are not the absolute maximum of this engine.
The engine has a speed limit of up to 10500 rpm. This engine also in­
cludes a gearbox, so these characteristics have been measured behind
the gearbox on the output shaft, which is to be finally connected to the
T. Pawlenka et al. Thermal Science and Engineering Progress 44 (2023) 102042

Fig. 10. Generator output current control loop.

generator shaft. The gear ratio of the selected gear is 2.38. This choice
was made with concern for the optimal operating conditions of the CHP.
The operating speed range was chosen to be around 4000 rpm, which
can be considered the optimal speed for the selected engine in terms of
consumption and sufficient power and torque. The optimal choice of
operating conditions will also raise the lifetime of the engine.
Combustion engines generally have lower power about 20% when
running on natural gas than when running on petrol, which is supported
by a measurement shown in Fig. 5. This statement is also confirmed by
Fig. 7. Measured power and torque characteristics of Schwarz electric motor in the contribution of Jahirul et al. [28] and Khan et al. [29]. However, it
case of the warm and cold motor. produces much fewer CO2 emissions.
We can also calculate the output mechanical power of the engine
according to the braking torque of the generator and angular speed.
Table 1
Maximum measured characteristics of Schwarz electric PM OUT ICE = Mb PGU ⋅ ω (1)
motor and Kawasaki engine fuelled by natural gas on the
hydrodynamic engine brake from Superflow. Fig. 6 shows the map of engine torque as a function of different
speeds and throttle valve open-angle. The red line, which is indicated in
Generator parameters Value
the figure represents the line of the maximum torque of the measured
Power [kW] 12.5
ICE.
Torque [Nm] 80
Current [A] 400
Generator power and torque characteristics are shown in Fig. 7.
Efficiency [%] 77 There is also an efficiency curve, which was calculated from:
Max. speed [rpm] 2400
PEL OUT PGU
Engine parameters ηPGU = ⋅100[%] (2)
PEL IN PGU
Power [kW] 31
Torque [Nm] 42
As can be seen from the figure, there is a relatively big difference
Max. speed [rpm] 7000 between the efficiency and power characteristics of the warm motor and
cold motor. The temperature difference was about 20 degrees. The effort
of the control unit of the CHP system will be to keep the generator at the
required temperature and thus increase the efficiency of the electric
motor and the whole system.
Table 1 shows the maximum measured values of power, torque,
current, and calculated efficiency.

CHP system control

The operation of the cogeneration unit is realized by three closed

Fig. 8. Engine speed control loop.
control loops. Two of them are used to control the required speed of the
ICE and the third takes care of the required generator output current. All
loops are controlled by their own PID controller. The controller pa­
rameters were determined by experimental methods. In the article by
Ebrahimi et al. [30], a PID strategy for air–fuel control of an ICE was
obtained, which could be useful in future development. The standard
PID controller algorithm in the time domain is described by the
following formula:
⎡ ⎤
∫t
1 de(t)
u(t) = kP ⎣e(t) + e(t)dt + TD ⎦ (3)
TI dt
0

In Fig. 8, there is a block diagram of a closed loop for control of

combustion engine speed. The setpoint is set by the higher-level control
system. The manipulated variable from this system represents the po­
sition of the throttle valve and is the input to the electronic throttle valve
subsystem that controls the flow of air to the engine. The engine speed is
Fig. 9. Throttle valve position control loop.

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T. Pawlenka et al.
Fig. 11. Flowchart of the cogeneration unit control system.
measured with a crankshaft position sensor.
Fig. 9 describes a block diagram of the integrated control loop in the
system of the electronic throttle valve. The mathematical model of the
electronic throttle valve was described by Humaidi and Hameed [31] in
their article. The manipulated variable here is the PWM signal, ac­
cording to which the H-bridge controls the current flowing through the
DC motor. The throttle valve position is measured with a contactless
inductive sensor.
The last control loop, which is shown in figure Fig. 10, serves to
control the required output current from the electric motor. The
manipulated variable is the torque here and it is transmitted to the
motor controller via the CAN bus. The generating current is measured by
the Hall effect current sensor.
Engine speed and output current controllers are implemented in the
main control system, which is CompactRIO from National Instruments
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Thermal Science and Engineering Progress 44 (2023) 102042
and the throttle position controller is programmed in the external unit
based on a single-chip microcontroller. In Fig. 11, there is a flowchart of
the control system algorithm.
Heat recovery from the combustion process
As already mentioned, two heat exchangers are installed to use the
thermal energy from the combustion process. Within the control system,
the algorithm of the CHP unit heat management was developed.
Fig. 12 shows the application for the settings and its visualization
during operation. There is shown a mode of using both heat exchangers
and the water is heated. To keep the ICE at the operating temperature,
there is also a controlled circulation pump, which can keep the output
temperature in the required stable state during the whole time of the
CHP operation. The hot water can be then used for heating the building
or DHW. We can also control the output water temperature according to
user requirements.
Fig. 13 shows an exhaust system with a heat exchanger and with
pictures from a thermal camera taken during the operation. The
assessment and optimization of a similar heat exchanger have been
described by Tian et al. [32] in their contribution. The exhaust pipeline
was also wrapped in insulation to maximize the efficiency of heat
transmission to the heat exchanger.
Testing of operating conditions
The graph in Fig. 14 shows the start of the PGU. This is done by
setting the electric motor control to the speed control mode with the
required ICE speed of 900 min− 1. This represents the function of the
starter. As part of this, a request for the required torque is sent to the
electric motor controller to rotate the combustion engine to the starting
speed. In the figure, the torque for the motor start is shown in the
negative and the torque for generating the current is positive. When the
engine is started, the required speed is exceeded, and the control of the
electric motor is switched to the mode of current control. Idle speed is
around 1600 min− 1. After a pre-set time has elapsed, which serves for a
slight warm-up of the engine after start-up, the engine speed control is
activated, and the speed is set to the required value by the control of the
throttle valve. After reaching 90% of the required speed, the current
controller is activated, and the generator gradually starts to increase the
generated current up to the setpoint. To increase the generated current,
a ramp is set, which corresponds to a value of 30 A per second. This
ensures the smooth operation of the generator even after a step change
of the required current.
Our natural gas generator can independently control speed and
charge current. This means that it can adapt to the requirements of the
connected battery and generate electricity with power in the range of
0 to 12.5 kW. The current or charging power can be continuously
changed over the entire range. At low loads, the engine can run at lower
speeds above.
3000 min− 1. At higher loads, it is necessary to set a higher speed.
However, it is not advantageous to run the engine at low loads and
speeds too high due to higher fuel consumption.
The process of power control of the generator is shown in Fig. 15,
where on the left side the engine speed control under constantly
generated current is shown, and on the right side is the current control
under constant engine speed. When controlling the current, higher de­
mands are placed on a faster response to the reduction of the required
current.
During the operation of the generator, in some cases, there are rapid
and significant changes caused by the BMS to the required charging
current. During these changes, the BMS may suddenly switch the full
charge current requirement (in this case around 30 A) to zero current
and increase the current again after a few seconds. This phenomenon is
shown in Fig. 16. The system responds to the zero current requirements
by automatically reducing the engine speed to the idle speed, which is
T. Pawlenka et al. Thermal Science and Engineering Progress 44 (2023) 102042

Fig. 12. Cogeneration unit heat management and its visualization.

Fig. 13. Exhaust system with heat exchanger.

around 1600 min− 1. After increasing the required current again, the the conversion. The density of natural gas is 0.69 kg.m− 3
under standard
system increases the speed and starts to generate current. In this situa­ conditions. The LHVf is then about 48.5 MJ.kg− 1.
tion, the engine can be stopped completely, similar to the start/stop The overall efficiency can be calculated as:
system in passenger cars. However, we do not use this option yet,
PE OUT
because it is usually a short-term interruption of charging, and during (5)
CHP
ηCHP = ⋅100[%]
PM IN
idle speed, the engine lubrication and water cooling are not completely
ICE

interrupted. Fig. 17 shows an energy balance diagram that illustrates the distri­
bution of the individual sub-energies that will be evaluated in this paper.
Methodology The overall output energy of the CHP system can be determined as:
PE = PEL + PQ (6)
To determine the efficiency of the developed CHP system according
OUT CHP OUT PGU CHP

to operating conditions, it is first necessary to determine the input power The electrical power of the generator is then calculated from the
of the ICE, which can be calculated using the following formula [33]: measured battery voltage and charging current:
ṁf ⋅LHV f PEL = U⋅I (7)
(4)
OUT PGU
PM IN ICE =
3.6
To determine the amount of heat transferred to the home heating
The mass flow of the fuel is measured by a high-pressure flowmeter circuit or DHW the heat balances were calculated for the heat exchanger
and the lower heating value LHVf of natural gas is MJ.m− 3 under stan­ of water/water type [35,36].
dard conditions. It is an averaged value valid for Czechia and it is The calculation is based on the first law of thermodynamics, which is
available in [34]. However, to determine the thermal input power we expressed by the following equation:
need this value in MJ.kg− 1. It is, therefore, necessary to use density for

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T. Pawlenka et al. Thermal Science and Engineering Progress 44 (2023) 102042

Fig. 14. Start the generator and start charging.

Fig. 15. Process of speed and current control.

Fig. 16. Automatic operating mode with the change of charging current setpoint.

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T. Pawlenka et al. Thermal Science and Engineering Progress 44 (2023) 102042

CHP system.
The overall energy loss can be determined by the following equation:
PZ CHP = PM IN ICE − PE OUT CHP (13)

Results

The final results from the real-time CHP testing are shown in the
following tables - Table 2, Table 3, and Table 4. The CHP system was
tested in different operating conditions and it was found the best-
operating conditions where the overall CHP efficiency is the highest.
According to these measurements, with the increasing generated
Fig. 17. Diagram of CHP energy balance at maximum measured over­
electrical power, the overall efficiency of the CHP system is also
all efficiency.
increasing. As you can see in the presenting results the overall efficiency
of the whole CHP system reached up to 87% in the mode of generating
ΔQ̇ = ṁA ⋅cA ⋅ΔtA = ṁB ⋅cB ⋅ΔtB + QZ (8) electrical power of 4 kW. This efficiency can be considered as typical for
The overall thermal power can be then calculated from the heat these CHP systems, which can be confirmed by the following studies
balance of the output heat exchanger, where we must determine and [37,38]. The efficiency of these systems ranges from approximately 85
compare the heat fluxes of both substances. Substance A is the engine to 90 %.
coolant and substance B is the water for heating. Fig. 18 shows the resulting CHP efficiency curves according to
different engine speeds and for the different generating currents. From
Q̇A = ṁA ⋅cA ⋅ΔtA (9) this figure, we can see that the best efficiency for these operating modes
is in the range of 3200 to 3800 min− 1. In Fig. 19, the fuel consumption
Q̇B = ṁB ⋅cB ⋅ΔtB = PQ CHP (10) for the different loads is shown. A more detailed energy balance is also
To determine the whole heat balance we can also calculate the illustrated in Fig. 20. There is a comparison of individual partial energy
amount of heat obtained from the ICE cooling and the exhaust gases: gains and losses. As can be seen from these sectional plots, a portion of
the heat gain from the exhaust is relatively constant. We can also see that
PQ ICE = ṁA ⋅cA ⋅ΔtA ICE (11) the thermal efficiency of the CHP decreases with increasing electrical
load. However, the overall losses are also reduced, which leads to an
PQ EXH = ṁA ⋅cA ⋅ΔtA EXH (12) increase in overall CHP efficiency.
We can also calculate the overall energy losses of the CHP if we know To illustrate the overall efficiency of the CHP system, an approximate
the input power from the fuel and the overall output power of the whole efficiency map of the measured area was created and is shown in Fig. 21.

Table 2
Results of energy balance and efficiency for continuous generation of 20 Amps.
n [min− 1] PM_IN_ICE [kW] PEL_OUT_PGU [kW] PQ_ICE [kW] PQ_EXH [kW] PQ_CHP [kW] PZ_CHP [kW] ηCHP [%]
2900 14.82 0.99 6.53 4.17 10.69 3.13 78.85
3200 15.16 0.99 6.71 4.59 11.30 2.87 81.06
3500 16.23 0.99 7.28 5.08 12.35 2.89 82.17
3800 17.24 0.99 7.56 5.48 13.03 3.22 81.31
4200 19.06 0.98 7.96 6.46 14.43 3.65 80.84
4500 21.02 0.94 8.28 7.51 15.79 4.29 79.60
4800 22.77 0.98 8.12 8.20 16.33 5.46 76.01

Table 3
Results of energy balance and efficiency for continuous generation of 50 Amps.
n [min− 1] PM_IN_ICE [kW] PEL_OUT_PGU [kW] PQ_ICE [kW] PQ_EXH [kW] PQ_CHP [kW] PZ_CHP [kW] ηCHP [%]
3200 16.96 2.53 6.65 4.71 11.36 3.07 81.90
3500 17.69 2.52 7.12 5.45 12.57 2.59 85.35
3800 18.92 2.52 7.64 5.97 13.61 2.79 85.25
4200 20.48 2.51 8.16 6.69 14.85 3.11 84.82
4500 22.09 2.51 8.64 7.54 16.18 3.41 84.58
4800 23.40 2.50 8.79 8.22 17.02 3.88 83.42
5000 25.06 2.50 8.92 8.93 17.85 4.71 81.19

Table 4
Results of energy balance and efficiency for continuous generation of 80 Amps.
n [min− 1] PM_IN_ICE [kW] PEL_OUT_PGU [kW] PQ_ICE [kW] PQ_EXH [kW] PQ_CHP [kW] PZ_CHP [kW] ηCHP [%]
3500 22.11 4.03 7.73 6.90 14.63 3.45 84.40
3800 22.30 4.01 8.02 7.39 15.41 2.88 87.10
4200 23.17 3.99 8.26 7.78 16.04 3.14 86.45
4500 24.21 3.98 8.58 8.40 16.98 3.25 86.57
4800 25.60 3.96 8.68 9.43 18.11 3.53 86.20
5000 26.68 3.95 8.70 10.01 18.70 4.02 84.93
5200 27.89 3.94 8.76 10.41 19.18 4.77 82.89

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T. Pawlenka et al. Thermal Science and Engineering Progress 44 (2023) 102042

This map shows that even higher efficiency can be achieved with
increasing load. This trend of increasing overall CHP efficiency with
increasing load can also be observed in Fig. 22, where the dependence of
overall CHP efficiency on speed is plotted. It also shows how the oper­
ating area of the CHP system is shifted .
As part of the summary of the results achieved, an evaluation of the
economic aspect was also carried out. Table 5 contains three case studies
in the climate conditions of Czechia, which show the operational costs of
CHP in different types of objects. The calculation is based on parameters
that have been chosen based on real objects for which these parameters
have been calculated by specialised persons.
If we know the heat demand of the object, we can calculate the time
of CHP operation during the heating season:
EQ
tCHP = (14)
PQ CHP
Then the natural gas consumption and electricity production per

Fig. 18. Resulting CHP efficiency during real-time testing of CHP.

Fig. 19. Fuel consumption of the ICE.

Fig. 21. Overall CHP efficiency map from the PGU braking torque depending
on the engine speed.

Fig. 20. Energy balance at various PGU electrical outputs and at the ICE speed for which the best overall CHP efficiency was achieved.

10
T. Pawlenka et al. Thermal Science and Engineering Progress 44 (2023) 102042

Table 6
Analysis of production costs.
Part Price Condition

KLE650 engine with electric installation and control units 875 € Used
Schwarz electric motor + controller 2367 € Used
Main ECU 286 € New
Sensors and actuators required for operation 358 € New/Used
Water heat exchanger and radiator with cooling fan 105 € Used
Cooling circuit parts (brass fittings, pipes, hose, …) 337 € New/Used
Flue gas exchanger 1727 € New
Structural and insulating material 1601 € New/Used
Additional electronics and electric installation 324 € New
Overall price: 7980 €

to compensate for the lack of electricity with the use of photovoltaics so

as to minimise the amount of electricity purchased from the grid.
It is now possible to evaluate the system in terms of production costs.
As already mentioned, the entire system is based mainly on already used
and recycled components. Its production costs are therefore much lower
than those of commercially available systems. A price list of the indi­
vidual items and the approximate price of the whole developed CHP
system is given in Table 6. The table also shows which items were new
and which were used.

Conclusions
Fig. 22. Illustration of the moving operating area of the CHP system depending
on the increasing load.
The presented project was focused on the development of a CHP
system based on ICE with a fuel system redesigned for the injection of
season can be calculated from the: natural gas. The developed system was completely built and tested in
ENG = PM (15) real conditions at the university.
IN ICE ⋅tCHP
The main contributions of this work can be summarized in several
EEL = PEL OUT PGU ⋅tCHP (16) points:

The calculation of operating costs in the table was made assuming
that the CHP system is operated in maximum efficiency mode all the
time. In the table there are three case studies describing objects of
different sizes with different heat loss. The first case study was a small-
sized family house. In this case, the developed CHP system can be
described as almost self-sufficient. If the annual heat requirements were
covered, the system would also cover almost the entire annual electricity
consumption. The second case study was a medium-sized family house.
Here, if the system covered the annual heat demand, it would generate
much more electricity than the household’s own consumption. It would
therefore be necessary to deal with selling the surplus energy to the grid.
The last case study concerns a medium-sized residential building. Here,
the system would cover approximately half of the annual electricity
consumption when covering the heat demand. As already mentioned,
the developed CHP system is part of a SHEMS to which photovoltaic
panels can also be connected. In this case, it would therefore be possible
• Low production costs due to the use of already used components.
• Very compact design, which makes it possible to install the system
even in small facilities.
• High efficiency of the entire CHP system, which was determined on
the basis of measured data from real testing and reached up to 87 %
at the PGU load of 4 kW and at the ICE speed of 3800 rpm.
• From the created efficiency map of the whole CHP system, it can be
seen that with higher loads even higher efficiency could be achieved.
• It was also found the best ICE speed range for the different loads.
These findings also helped to improve the automatic control
algorithms.
• The system is capable of charging the SHEMS battery storage or
directly the batteries of a connected electric vehicle in the range of
39 to 96 V. In the case of direct vehicle charging, this eliminates the
need to convert from DC to AC, which in effect also increases the
efficiency of power transfer.

Table 5
The cost of using CHP in different types of buildings (assumption is the operation in the mode of generating 80 Amps with 87% CHP efficiency in the climate conditions
of Czechia).
Basic calculation parameters

Outside calculation temperature − 15 ◦ C The length of the heating season 230 days
The mean daily temperature at the start and end of the heating season 13 ◦ C Hot water consumption per person/day 0.05 m3
Electricity consumption per person/year 1 MWh
Average internal calculation temperature 19 ◦ C Price of 1 MWh NG (valid for Czechia) 62.5 €
The average temperature during the heating season 4 ◦C Price of 1 MWh of electricity (valid for Czechia) 292 €

Calculation of costs to annual operation

Case study Heat loss of the building Heat demand Electricity demand NG consumption Electricity produced Overall cost

1. Small-sized FH (4 inhabitants) 5 kW 14.1 MWh 4 MWh 20.4 MWh 3.7 MWh 1275 €
2. Medium-sized FH (4 inhabitants) 10 kW 23.2 MWh 4 MWh 33.6 MWh 6 MWh 2100 €
3. Medium-sized RB (100 inhabitants) 50 kW 215.2 MWh 100 MWh 144.7 MWh 56 MWh 9044 €

11
T. Pawlenka et al.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Tomáš Pawlenka: Methodology, Investigation, Writing – original
draft, Writing – review & editing. Martin Juránek: Software. Pavel
Klaus: Supervision. Marek Beseda: . Michal Buráň: . Miroslav
Suchánek: Formal analysis. Petr Sehnoutka: . Jiří Kulhánekb:
Conceptualization.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Data availability
The authors do not have permission to share data.
Acknowledgements
Results were achieved thanks to the financial support of Technology
Agency of the Czech Republic, project no. TH02020318 and by the
project no. SP2022/79 The application of 3D printing technology in
prototyping components for e-mobility supported by the Ministry of
Education, Youth and Sports, Czech Republic.
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