Abstract
Energy efficiency is a common approach to mitigating global climate change by reducing carbon emissions from power generation plants. A hybrid (solid oxide fuel cell integrated) combined heat and power (CHP) water heater has its economic feasibility analyzed herein using techno-economic methods to predict future costs of water heating based on the present value of money and region of the United States. A baseline natural gas fired water heater is selected to determine the economic feasibility of the hybrid system. The lifetime of the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) will be considered since there will be additional replacement costs when compared to the baseline water heater. The results show the hybrid water heater is economically viable in certain regions of the United States. For example, the Northeast and South regions of the United States have total savings of $12,854 and $4,100, respectively at the end of the 60 year analysis. Regional hot water demand, utility natural gas and electricity prices, and their historical increase rates, dictate whether the hybrid system is economically viable.
