Combined Heat and Power Generation (CHP) A mini power station in your kitchen… Michael Kerridge,

Micro CHP Micro CHP units create: - Electricity - Heating - Hot water under one efficient process, as the main by product (Heat) is fully utilised. The sleek, non-invasive units (as can be seen opposite) replace contemporary boilers and the reliance on the national grid to supply all electricity. Their are several companies investing in CHP technologies, one of which is PowerGen with its WhisperGen units. PowerGen began feasibility studies and user trials into Micro CHP over 3 years ago. What is CHP?

Annual heat demand18,000kWh Electricity generated2,400kWh Own use of generation85% Electricity exported15% Generated and Consumed 85% Electricity sold to the grid 15% WhisperGen, the field trials Throughout the day every household moves through periods of high and low energy demands, WhisperGen units are flexible in that they allow: -Surplus electricity to be sold back to the energy suppliers. -Energy to be taken from the national grid at times of high demand. As one can see from the pie chart above, on average nearly 1/6th of generated electricity is sold back to the national grid.

YearLevel of Payback 0-£500Debt 1-£358Debt 2-£216Debt 3-£74Debt 4£68Saving 5£210Saving 6£352Saving The Financial incentive With standard savings of £142 (per annum) being seen, it is forecast that consumers can pay off the initial £500 startup costs within 3-4 years. However the savings are not all financial.

16-19% carbon savings can be achieved Environmental Responsibility This Bar Chart shows fluctuations in household CO2 generation throughout the year. With the latter data in each month highlighting the potential savings (of 19%) with the WhisperGen technology A potential saving of 1.5 tonnes of the average 6.2 tonnes produced per house per year.

This table demonstrates effectively the massive, efficiency differences between conventional power plants and the Micro CHP setup. Micro CHP 90% 0% Central power plant 50% 40% 10% From fuel to energy Transmission loss Overall efficiency Environmental Responsibility

Conclusion The advantages of CHP undoubtedly outweigh those supporting standard electricity generation as we know it, leading one to ask why this technology is so unheard of? CHP does increase efficiency dramatically, however these units still require non-renewable energy, leading some to ask if this is the answer and whether companies are correct in investing so much money. Few agreements have been made for companies to replace faulty boilers with CHP units, also few new housing developments fit such units as standard. The government have not created any incentives to accelerate its popularity. The issue of selling back electricity is not fully implemented and some feel the by back price is unfair. Estimated start-up costs have been given but units have not entered mass production so such costs are still high (specialist installers are also required)

References Initiatives/WhisperGen.htmhttp:// Initiatives/WhisperGen.htm MicroCHP_UK.pdfhttp:// MicroCHP_UK.pdf