Prospects of using autonomous sources of power supply

The article presents the analysis of the prospects of using autonomous sources of power supply. The authors reveal the advantages of using gas-turbine and gas-piston installations with cogeneration of heat and electricity. The article contains brief description of basic kinds of thermal pumps, the indices of their efficiency, shows the comparative efficiency of heat generation in the gas boiler-room and by means of the thermal pump installations. In recent years autonomous sources of power supply have been successfully developed. To carry out the analysis of prospects of their use, the authors considered possible sources of power supply for ordinary industrial and household consumers, located in urban and rural areas. The number of power plants in Russia is insufficient and there is need to build new ones. Or there is another choice - to use autonomous and alternative energy sources. In power industry they are represented by gas-turbine and gas-piston engines. Gas-turbine installation represents power installation in which gas turbine, electric generator, air-gas path, control system and auxiliary devices are structurally integrated. Thermal pumps can become highly effective and eco-friendly source of heat in the systems of heat supply. The thermal pump represents the thermal engine working on the reverse cycle. The thermal engine working on direct cycle, receives heat from a high-temperature source and dumps it at a low temperature, thus ensuring productive work. The thermal pump demands work expense for receiving heat at a low temperature and it returns the warmth of average potential at higher temperature. However, taking into account current tariffs for the electric power of thermal pumps with the electric drive, they can be unprofitable. Therefore after careful economic calculations it was revealed that the application for the drive of thermal pumps of gas-piston or gas-turbine engines can be more favorable.