In the present article, the authors analyze different possibilities for providing heating, air conditioning and hot tap water to a hospital center. For this, several cogeneration systems with diesel engines and gas turbines were considered. From the study of the results, it is observed that the size of the facility and the control strategy have a strong influence on the system economy, showing that the most important parameter is the electricity produced. So, the solutions with diesel engines are more efficient than the equivalent ones with gas turbines, since they have a higher electrical performance. (c) 2005 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.