Thermally-Activated Technologies

Background
Thermally activated technologies (TAT) can be directly fired or operated using waste heat in combined heat and power applications. These technologies have a long history and have seen generations of service both in direct-fired systems (where fossil fuels are used directly) to produce chilled water for air conditioning or in refrigeration and dehumidification as well as in equipment using steam or hot water to provide these services. Further advances in efficiency, size, and cost will result in greater use of TAT and in progress toward national energy and environmental goals. This is particularly true in the development of TAT that are powered by recovered waste heat. TAT in combination with onsite power generation forms the backbone of new Integrated Energy Systems (IES) that can provide cooling, heating and power simultaneously.

Focus
The focus of our work is on technologies that have broad utilization potential such as cooling, electricity from recovered heat, dehumidification, humidification, water heating, steam heating, drying, and shaft power from heat energy. We are developing a portfolio of TAT that are user-friendly to install, relatively “hassle-free” to maintain, and capable of “plug and play” operation. Our research and development areas are:

• Absorption cooling and refrigeration systems
  
  
• Solid-desiccant and liquid-desiccant systems for dehumidification
  
  
• Advanced thermal recovery cycles
  
  
• Heat and mass transfer technologies
  
  
• Other Technologies
  

If you have any questions or comments regarding this section or the CHP Technologies Program in general, please contact us.