Distributed Generation
A typical UK home uses electricity generated by a central power station and transmitted through the electricty grid network and uses a gas boiler to meet its heating and hot water needs. Centralised generation wastes a significant proportion of the energy it uses, through heat losses in the power station and transmission and distribution losses.
A combined heat and power (CHP) product installed in a home and generating electricity at the point of use (distributed generation), avoids these losses, capturing the heat for use in domestic hot water and heating in the home. By creating electricity at the point of use in the home, overall efficiency of fossil fuel use can be improved from around 35% for centralised generation to up to 90% for residential CHP. this increase in energy efficiency delivers significant reductions in carbon emissions.
Ceres Power's Fuel Cell Module has been integrated within a compact wall-mounted residential CHP product that replaces the conventional residential boiler and also produces the majority of a typical home's electricity needs.
Ceres CHP products aim to reduce the carbon emissions and energy costs of residential properties. Currently, versions operating on natural gas and packaged LPG are being developed, making the product suitable for a wide range of properties, whether or not they are connected to the mains gas supply.