A generator burns fuel and converts a fraction (set by the electrical-conversion slider) into electricity; the rest leaves mostly as hot exhaust gas, plus a fixed 7% radiated/mechanical loss. A conventional plant vents the exhaust straight to the atmosphere — pure waste, capping overall efficiency near the electrical fraction plus a little. A cogeneration (CHP) plant instead routes the same exhaust through a heat-recovery unit (efficiency set by the second slider) into a second use — process steam or building heating — so most of what used to be wasted becomes useful output, even though electrical output never changes.
- Fuel input rate — total chemical energy burned per second; scales electricity, heat and losses together.
- Electrical conversion efficiency — a real generator can range from ~28% (small/old engine) to ~46% (modern combined-cycle-ready turbine).
- Heat-recovery efficiency — a well-insulated, well-matched heat exchanger captures more of the exhaust than a leaky/oversized one.
Real-world relevance: industrial cogeneration is one of the highest-leverage efficiency retrofits available — it needs no new fuel source, only reusing the heat a generator already produces.