Trigeneration
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Trigeneration implies the simultaneous production of mechanical power (often converted to electricity), heat and cooling from a single heat source such as solar energy or fuel. As with cogeneration, the "waste heat" byproduct that results from power generation is harnessed, thus increasing the overall efficiency of the system.
Usually space heating and hot water storage tanks serve as a heat sink for reasonable waste heat utilization of the electricity generation. In summer, the heat demand is much lower but the lost heat of the CHP process can be transformed into cooling energy by an absorption chiller. Trigeneration is sometimes referred to as CCHP (combined cooling heating and power).
