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Climate Energy was formed in the year 2000 to bring "micro-combined heat and power," or micro-CHP, to consumers in the U.S.
Combined heat and power systems, already available for industry and large buildings, are designed to harvest what is normally wasted heat during the process of power generation. As fuel is burned to make electricity, the resulting heat is captured and piped through a home's existing hot-air heating system.
Climate Energy's system is designed around a Honda internal combustion engine that burns natural gas to generate electricity. A heat exchanger feeds any captured heat to a furnace, which then distributes the hot air.
If sized right, the combined heat and power unit can heat a home during the cold months of the year and slash a home's electricity bills, according to the company's president and CEO, Eric Guyer.
Guyer said Climate Energy's micro-CHP system is trying to take well-understood co-generation, or on-site, power generation technology and make it fit into the average home.
"There are all kinds of co-generation technologies, but nothing on the micro scale," said Guyer. "That's the big untapped market."
He estimates that central heating systems are installed in about 4 million houses every year in the U.S.
Customers who have been beta testing the system in Massachusetts end up with comparatively tiny electric charges of a few dollars in winter months, Guyer said.
That's because the power generated in their homes--about 1.2 kilowatts--offsets their monthly, grid-delivered electricity and is subtracted from their bill. If the power produced exceeds the electrical needs at a given moment, the meter runs backward as power is fed back onto the grid.
Bernard Malin of Braintree, Mass., has had a Climate Energy system in place since last winter. The combined heat and power system is taking a "chunk" out of his electrical bill, something he's still monitoring.
But Malin noted that there are other benefits, including on-site power generation and a very efficient heating unit.
"The key here is I'm getting the benefit of electricity but, because it's an integrated system, I'm producing heat more efficiently, and I'm not calling for heat as much," he said.
"Just think of the heat that's generated at a (local) power plant--it's going up the smoke stack. I'm using it to heat my house. Nothing goes to waste," he said.
Malin added that the Climate Energy system provides a slow, steady airflow, which allows him to keep his thermostat set lower than his previous furnace, which tended to spike up and down.
Greener than the grid
At $13,500, the cost of the system is roughly twice what somebody would pay for a high-end furnace, Guyer said. But he calculates that people can save $800 to $1,000 a year on electricity, which means the payback would be quicker than conventional heating.
Climate Energy is also hoping to tap into growing environmental concerns.
Combined heat and power systems are very efficient; about 90 percent of the energy is utilized either in heat or electricity.
Because of its high efficiency, the micro-combined heat and power system qualified for a utility-sponsored incentive program. Keyspan Energy Delivery, which serves Massachusetts and other eastern U.S. regions, offers a $2,000 rebate because the system fits into its efficiency programs, according to the company.
Local power generation also gives people a back-up system, he added. And an Internet connection allows for remote maintenance and diagnostics.
Residential combined heat and power systems are further along outside the United States.
In the United Kingdom, there are at least four micro-combined heat and power systems already available, according to the Cogen Europe industry association, which calculates that more than half of the U.K.'s households are suitable.
Systems in Europe are often designed to look and operate like an appliance, placed under a kitchen counter, for example, rather than tucked in a basement.
Because of its efficiency, a micro-CHP system can reduce a household's greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent, according to the U.K.'s Micropower Council.
Climate Energy's Guyer noted that 30,000 micro-combined heat and power units have been installed in Japan in the past few years.
He compared micro-CHP to hybrid cars, which rely on existing technologies. And much like a hybrid car, micro-CHP systems don't compromise performance; the only difference a micro-CHP should introduce is a smaller electric bill.
Later this year, the company plans to release a version that warms up water, rather than air, for heating.
"It's not a big question of whether the technology is viable," he said. "It's really a question of whether we can get it out there with the right price and few bugs."
Malin said that installers from the local power company didn't have any problem installing the Climate Energy system.
He didn't have to pay for the system since it was installed for testing purposes. But viewed over the life of the product, which can be 20 years, he said the higher price tag would be worth it, particularly for people with high electricity rates.
"These gas systems burn really clean, so virtually nothing breaks. So you can really justify it with a little bit of saving on the electric bill," Malin said. "And just having a little bit more (energy) independence away from everybody else is really nice."
See more CNET content tagged:
Combined Heat and Power,
power generation,
electricity,
heat,
Massachusetts
carbon-spewing fuels, primarily of the fossil variety, is.
Combine the min-CHP with a solar/PV system and consumers will be FREE from the enslavement of the monopoly electric utilities. Distributed Generation(DG) is getting a huge boost with the mini-CHP.
Efficiency and cycle efficiency are key to saving energy and money. The mini CHP with 90% cycle efficency is going to be a huge market winner. Bring'em on!
If you want to get free....join the Amish since they don't use any
electricty. It's not just the "W"s plan but also the responsibility of
congress.....oh yeah....and the voting public!
operated engine. This thing will produce energy and use the
heat by-product to warm up the house. When a heater is just a
heater it can be up to 90% efficient. When this thing is
generating electricity (which is really the whole point) it won't be
anywhere near that.
It would be very nice of Bush or any other government figure to
offer subsidies / rebates on something like this. I think it might
be a little too expensively for them to afford personally though.
So they would have to do what government always does, stick a
gun to someone's head and force them to give up their money
so someone else can get a cheaper energy appliance.
If mini-CHP technology turns out great energy savings for its
owners, people will be running to it on their own. If on the other
hand, they prefer to not have dishwasher noise 24/7 and an
inflated gas bill, they might wait for something else to come
along.
I am truly afraid of some Islamic mullah or caliphate deciding that the good citizens of the United States need to fork over the Jizyah tax (as if we don't already via bloated oil prices!!), and our foreign-oil addicted government is too weak to say ?no?.
Imagine a unit that recycles water (into potable or steam systems), waste (into fuel and inert potting matter) and heat into home system power plant. Heating, cooling, waste-recycler and electricity. All consumer friendly or partially-serviceable.
Companies like Lennox should see that the homeowner needs to be independent from the grid and local sewage, municipalities.
Looks like your idea is a "little" different from this one inasmuch as your idea is impossible and pointless while this is an actual product that works.
That alone would be a huge selling point for me, being a Puget Sound Energy customer. I'm tired of the power outtages.
The advantage of this system over a larger backup only generator is that this system will pay for itself instead of sitting unused 99+% of the time.
Also: Presumably, in winter, the Honda natural gas powered engine gets quite a work out. WHat's the life cycle of sunch and engine and what's the cost of eventual replacement?
ANother Question: What's the noise level associated with a combustion engine in the basement? I have friends with back up engines for electricity, but these are always located OUTSIDE of the house. Any issues here?
Thanks
Don't know about the projected life of the Honda engine but clearly heating units are designed for a long time.
The customer I spoke to said he can hear the generator working. Noise level on the order of a dish washer.
http://www.clickaudit.com/goto/?18961 The cost is the one Biggest Problems why more people are not using this Technology and maybe they have the answer.
the same as this home generator?
That would be bigger than your house.
I clicked your link and found out that that solar system puts out
only 250 Watts during peak or one fifth the power of the Honda
generator in the article.
homes--about 1.2 kilowatts--offsets their monthly, grid-
delivered electricity and is subtracted from their bill. If the power
produced exceeds the electrical needs at a given moment, the
meter runs backward as power is fed back onto the grid."
This is just not true for states like Illinois where you are not
allowed to tie into the grid directly. If you want to do something
like this, the law states that you are not allowed to run your
meter backwards. You have to install a second meter to track
outgoing power separate from incoming.
Because in Illinois, they only pay back a fraction per KW-hr of
what they charge you to use a KW-hr.
In other words, if you're not home using the power you're
generating, you're not offsetting the charges on a 1 to 1 basis.
It's still great if you don't have to purchase any power but you
won't be making as much money as you would have paid them
for the same amount of power. I don't have the exact figures
but they only pay you something like 25% of what they would
have charged you for the same amount of power.
Why? They also maintain the power grid, they argue. So they
believe they are entitled to charge more for the electricity.
Illinois started deregulating this month where they have separate
line items on the bill for power and for distribution. I'm not sure
yet how this effects everything else I said.
The Freewatt system is not sized to be a net producer of electricity, but rather to replace a significant portion of the power that you would normally have to purchase from the grid.
would get little use of this product. Here is where solar has the
most potential. If I find the right product, I'd use it with or without
government incentives. Maybe for a change the consumer can drive
the decisions rather than industry lobbyists.
Even if you use free fuel like pig or chicken **** you need an expensive plant to convert it into combustible gas. And the surplus heat from the engine is nowhere near enough to heat a home.
Micro - generation, like wind power is a total non starter. They are a great profit maker for unscrupulous companies who don't care abour accuracy in their sales literature. Solar power has potential but tidal and run of river generation schemes offer the best way forward but can only work with massive public investment. So we have to abandon free market capitalism to save the world.
Which would be two steps forward at once.
BTW watch out for micro-generation based pyramid selling schemes. That' how dodgy the idea is.
http://machiavelli.blog.co.uk/main
The heat output from the engine is enough to heat a decent sized home on a moderate day, and provide more than half of the total heat required to a home during the course of the year. Remember that heating equipment is normally sized to meet the demand on the coldest day of the year, most of the time much less heat is needed.
The biggest problem was that the meters, regulators and pipes rotted in weeks from the highly acidic gas.
Is there a propane model available?
It's important to note that most people who purchase a Freewatt system will be replacing older, much less efficient equipment and as such will see no change or even a reduction in their heating fuel usage.
The system will run on propane as well as natural gas.
Two things are needed to feed power back onto the grid...
1. Permission from the power company. (and maybe a second
outgoing meter depending on your state's laws)
2. A special synchronizing switch. It's an expensive electronic
box with a switch that syncs the voltage phase of the generator
to the grid before tying it in. <<- This is your new fail-safe
device.
It's the same system you'd install with a windmill generator.
Otherwise you'd be correct. If you just plugged a regular home
generator into the grid, you blow up the generator, your panel,
and maybe something else.
day in and day out spewing pollution and green house gases
into the air? Naaaaah.
Do I want to pay for the infratructure to monitor all these
engines to make sure their emissions controls are being
maintatined properly? Naaaah.
We need to get away from burning fossil fuels. And this doesn't
do it.
Micro-CHP represents a large step in fuel efficiency. It certainly does not eliminate the need to use fossil fuels, however it does use fossil fuels in a much more responsible and efficient way than we are doing today.
It would be great if in the blink of an eye everyone converted to solar heating and electric or if there was a breakthrough in nuclear fusion. However the reality of the near term is that people are going to be replacing their fuel burning heating systems with other fuel burning heating systems and the Freewatt system allows us all to use the fuel that we are going to be burning anyway to get the most value out of it.
runs on natural gas?
cell that runs on natural gas?"
Probably because instead of $13,000 for a 1.2 KW device, you'd
be paying several times more for a fuel cell of that size. That
makes this technology impractical for the average home at this
time.
When you compare KW to size, nothing yet comes close to the
practicality of just rotating the shaft of a conventional generator.
Even wind-power which uses the exact same type of generators
are not practical when you compare the size of blades required
to generate the same rotational forces as super-heated steam or
hydro-electric turbines.
- Heat house with appliances
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by dmm
January 31, 2007 2:20 PM PST
- My kids like to leave on the TV, the PCs, the lights, etc., which of course generates a lot of waste heat. In the winter I don't mind so much, since it just means I'm heating the house with electricity instead of the gas furnace (so it's slightly more expensive). But in the summer....AAAARRRGH!!! TURN OFF THE $#%@!* LIGHTS!
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