Power Plant Performance Factors

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Power Plant Performance Factors

Power plants and heat rate, thermal efficiency, capacity factor, load factor, economic efficiency, operational efficiency, energy efficiency
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The performance of a power plant can be expressed through some common performance factors as heat rate (energy efficiency) thermal efficiency capacity factor load factor economic efficiency operational efficiency

Heat Rate (Energy Efficiency)

Overall thermal performance or energy efficiency for a power plant for a period can be defined as hr = H / E where hr = heat rate (Btu/kW, kJ/kW) H = heat supplied to the power plant for a period (Btu, kJ) E = energy output from the power plant in the period (kWh) (1)

Thermal Efficiency
Thermal efficiency of a power plant can be expressed as
Convert Units
Temperature
o o

te = (100) (3412.75) / where

(2)

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C F

te = thermal efficiency (%)

Capacity Factor
Length

m km in ft yards miles nautical miles

The capacity factor for a power plant is the ratio between average load and rated load for a period of time and can be expressed as cf = (100) P al / P rl where cf = capacity factor (%) Pal = average load for the power plant for a period (kW) Prl = rated capacity for the power plant (kW) (3) Consulting-Specifying Engineer

Volume m3 liters in3 ft

3

Load Factor
Load factor for a power plant is the ratio between average load and peak load and can be expressed as lf = (100) P al / P pl where lf = load factor (%) Ppl = peak load for the power plant in the period (kW) (4) Photonics Online

us gal

Velocity

m/s km/h ft/min ft/s mph knots

Economic Efficiency
Economic efficiency is the ratio between production costs, including fuel, labor, materials and services, and energy output from the power plant for a period of time. Economic efficiency can be expressed as ee = C / E where (5)

Engineering Standards

Pressure

ee = economic efficiency (cents/kW, euro/kW, ...)

Pa (N/m2) bar mm H2O kg/cm2

C = production costs for a period (cents, euro, ..) E = energy output from the power plant in the period (kWh)

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Power Plant Performance Factors

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/power-plant-efficiency-d_960...

psi inches H2O

Operational Efficiency
Operational efficiency is the ratio of the total electricity produced by the plant during a period of time compared to the total potential electricity that could have been produced if the plant operated at 100 percent in the period. Operational efficiency can be expressed as

Flow m3/s m3/h US gpm cfm

oe = (100) E / E 100% where

(6)

eo = operational efficiency (%) E = energy output from the power plant in the period (kWh)

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E100% = potential energy output from the power plant operated at 100% in the period (kWh)
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