The Octagon
DG/CHP Program
Fuel Cell Provides Cooling & Hot Water
Project Profile
Multi-Family Residence
Combined heat and power for
Overview
Quick Facts
Location:
New York, NY
(Niagara Mohawk)
The Octagon is a 500-unit, luxury, multi-family
residential building located on Roosevelt Island in
New York, NY. The fourteen story wings contain the
residential areas, while the common areas are housed
in the original historic Octagon. The Octagon was
originally built in 1814, but fell into disrepair over the
years, only to be completely renovated in 2006, to its
current condition. A goal of the renovation was for the
building to be as energy efficient as possible. It made
history by becoming the first residential building in
New York State to be powered and heated by a fuel
cell.
Installation Date:
2011
The Application
Operating Experience:
Beginning May 2011
One of the energy efficient measures taken in The
Octagon was to install a 400 kW fuel cell to provide
power, and heat for space cooling and domestic hot
water.
CHP Equipment:
One UTC Power PureCell®
Model 400 Fuel Cell
Generating Capacity:
400 kW
Heat Recovery Application:
Space Cooling and Domestic
Hot Water
Design CHP Efficiency:
90%
Type of Fuel:
Natural Gas
One UTC Power PureCell® Model 400 Fuel Cell
is installed near the entrance to the apartments. The
fuel cell provides clean and efficient electric power and
thermal output to the facility. The fuel cell supplies a
portion of the facility’s electricity requirements and the
plant recovers heat from the fuel cell to use for space
and Domestic Hot Water (DHW) heating. The fuel
cell is able to provide 400 kW of electrical power and
up to 1.7 million Btu/h of heat. If fully utilized, the fuel
cell can obtain a thermal efficiency near 90%. As a
result of all of the “green” energy, The Octagon has
been given the LEED (Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design) Silver Award for using
approximately 35% less energy than required by code.
Total Cost – FC & Install:
$1.5 million with incentives
$3.7 million w/o incentives
Annual Energy Savings:
$221,500 per year (estimated)
Simple Payback:
5 years (with incentives)
14 years (w/o incentives)
Installed PureCell Model 400 Fuel Cell
CHP System and Equipment
The PureCell 400 is a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system that changes natural gas to
heat and power through a combustion-free, electro-chemical process. The energy efficiency
is significantly higher than that obtained from the grid and the emissions are substantially
lower while still providing enough power to meet most of the building’s energy demands. By
capturing the fuel cell’s heat released during that process, it provides for water and space
heating as well.
DHW Storage
Tanks
Existing
Systems
To Building
Load
Low Temp
Loop
Boilers
-
Bruce Becker,
President,
Becker + Becker
Developer&Architect
M
Heat
Exchanger
M
From Building
Load
M
TLS
TLR
FL
TCWS
“On-site fuel cell
technology
represents the
future of
electricity
generation in
this country.”
FCW
Cooling
Module
Fuel Cell
TCWR
Web Links
and Further
Information:
Fuel Cell System Schematic
Economics and Environmental Benefits
Developer/Engineer
The fuel cell at The Octagon is estimated to reduce carbon emissions by 790 metric tons per
year, significantly reducing the environmental impact. Fuel cell technology has been used in
schools, hospitals and other energy-intensive buildings, but it has not been used extensively
in the residential market; The Octagon is the first. As well as having “green” benefits, the
fuel cell can act as an auxiliary power system in times of power failure on the grid.
Monitored data are being collected from the site and are available in an hourly format on
NYSERDA’s DG/CHP website starting from May 2011.
Equipment
Manufacturer
www.beckerandbecker.com
www.utcpower.com
Other
DG/CHP
Resources
chp.nyserda.org
PureCell 400 Unit
Summary of Benefits
Reduces carbon footprint significantly
More than 35% less energy is used to run the system
Stand-by power in the event of power grid failure
Prepared for NYSERDA by:
CDH Energy Corp.
Cazenovia, NY 13035
315-655-1063
www.cdhenergy.com
[email protected]