Systems and methods are disclosed for a cogeneration system for providing heating, cooling, and/or electricity to an enclosure. The system includes a heat engine for heating and supplying electricity to the enclosure. Coupled to the heat engine is a first conduit configured to transfer fluid from the heat engine to the enclosure to transfer thermal energy from the fluid to the enclosure. The system further includes a heat pump configured to supply at least heating and cooling to the enclosure. Coupled to the heat pump is at least a second conduit. The second conduit is configured to move fluid from the heat pump to the enclosure to transfer thermal energy from the fluid to the enclosure.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for recovery of waste energy from a battery energy storage system. A system includes a battery energy storage system including one or more rechargeable batteries; an energy recovery system coupled to the battery energy storage system, wherein the energy recovery system is configured to: capture heat generated by one or more of charging and discharging the one or more rechargeable batteries; and store or use energy associated with the captured heat.

A power generation system according to the present invention includes: a fuel cell unit including a fuel cell, a hydrogen generator having a first combustor, and a case; a controller; a combustion unit including a second combustor; and a discharge passage formed to cause the case and the combustion unit to communicate with each other. In a case where the controller causes one of the first combustor and the second combustor to perform the ignition operation, the controller maintains an operating state of the other combustor during the period of the ignition operation of the one combustor.

There is herein described energy storage systems. More particularly, there is herein described thermal energy storage systems and use of energy storable material such as phase change material in the provision of heating and/or cooling systems in, for example, domestic dwellings.

The present invention relates to a combined fuel cell and boiler system, and comprising: a fuel cell portion for receiving supplied outside air and raw material gas and generating electricity through a catalyst reaction; and a boiler portion comprising a latent heat exchanger, which is connected to an exhaust gas pipe of the fuel cell portion, for collecting the latent heat of self-generated exhaust gas with the latent heat of exhaust gas from the fuel cell portion. The present invention can effectively increase the efficiency of a boiler by supplying the exhaust gas from the fuel cell to the latent heat exchanger in the boiler, so as to be heat-exchanged in the latent heat exchanger with the exhaust gas from the boiler and then discharged, and can simplify the composition by unifying exhaust gas pipes.

A cogeneration system includes a fuel battery, a heat supply channel, and a first heat exchange portion. The fuel battery houses a fuel battery cell. The heat supply channel causes a medium that recovers heat generated by the fuel battery to flow therein. The first heat exchange portion that is positioned close to the outer side of the fuel battery or positioned within the fuel battery to cause the medium flowing in the heat supply channel to recover the heat generated by the fuel battery.

A cogeneration system has a fuel cell, a fuel cell system, and an indirect supply line. The fuel cell system has a first heat exchange unit, a heat storage tank, and a waste heat recovery line. The first heat exchange unit is positioned close to an outer side of the fuel cell or inside thereof and causes a heat medium to recover heat generated at the fuel cell. The heat storage tank stores the heat medium and provides heat in response to a hot-water supply demand. The waste heat recovery line causes the heat medium to circulate between the fuel cell and the heat storage tank. The indirect supply line includes a second heat exchange unit that supplies heat by causing the heat medium stored in the heat storage tank and a medium to exchange heat with each other.

A power generation system of the present invention includes: a fuel cell unit (101) including a fuel cell (11) and a case (12); a controller (102); a combustion unit (103) provided outside the case (12) and configured to combust a combustible gas to supply heat; and a discharge passage (70) configured to cause the fuel cell unit (101) and the combustion unit (103) to communicate with each other, wherein in a case where an exhaust gas is being discharged to the discharge passage (70) from one of the fuel cell unit (101) and the combustion unit (103) and the controller (102) changes the flow rate of the exhaust gas discharged from the other unit, the controller (102) controls at least the flow rate of the exhaust gas discharged from the other unit such that the flow rate of the exhaust gas discharged from the one unit becomes constant.