Development: Cogen: Power to the people
If people are to readily transfer heat energy from one medium to another, they need to design and use what engineers call a 'heat exchanger'. The heat exchanger in our cogen plant transfers heat from hot motor coolant containing antifreeze to water people use for bathing and washing dishes without mixing the two liquids. Heat conducts readily through the thin copper walls of the heat exchange coil, shown here. Looking like an electric heating element, the coil is actually 5/8 soft copper tubing obtained in a hardware store, which can readily be bent into complex shapes.
This heat exchanger has transfered heat equivalent to several hundred gallons of gasoline, enabling us to provide clean hot water continuously on demand the past four years.
