This blog has now moved. Please visit Zerochampion.com and update your bookmarks
Here's an interesting tie-up in the CHP world. Components manufacturer GTC Europe has teamed up with UK technology consultancy Cambridge Consultants to work on a new mass market micro CHP system for domestic use. The consortium aims to have its first generation system up and running by the end of 2007 and claims the key markets it is aiming at is the Uk, Germany and the Netherlands.
This blog has now moved. Please visit Zerochampion.com and update your bookmarks
"At the moment CHP systems under development for the domestic market will fail to offer performance at the right price and are typically three years from market," says GTC chairman Peter van der Lichte. "There is significant demand now, therefore the market needs a product that costs around the same as current systems, yet can deliver the high efficiency that the technology promises."
Any info on what will make this better than the one that Whispergen is already marketing, and that Baxi are developing?
Posted by: Hana Loftus | 22 March 2007 at 03:07 PM
Hana,
You have me stumped there. I'm going to put a call in to GTC/Cambridge Consultants and see what they have to say about how their product will differ.
Posted by: Phil Clark | 23 March 2007 at 02:03 PM
The key thing about microCHP is that the systems on the market are all consuming fossil fuels. This is not the future, surely. Either microCHP run from fuel cells or large scale CHP fuelled by renewables is the answer. Tinkering with gas powered microCHP doesn't seem to have a future.
Posted by: Rory Bergin | 23 March 2007 at 04:39 PM
Hi Phil, I've spoken to CTG about their engine and I'm not sure it's going to solve the problems encountered by other single-dwelling CHP units. I put the information up on my blog. See trackback above.
Posted by: Casey Cole | 27 March 2007 at 04:06 PM
Thanks for that Casey. I'm speaking to Cambridge/GTC tomorrow so will update you on that.
Posted by: Phil Clark | 27 March 2007 at 04:41 PM
Regarding the fossil fuel vs carbon neutral fuel comment above. Obviously fossil-fueled home-energy solutions, microCHP or other, are not the final answer. Nonetheless, a gas or oil-burning microCHP provides significant green improvement, both in operating cost and carbon emissions, over present home-energy offerings, and perhaps more importantly, these kinds of systems provide a bridge to what's next. Involving today's energy provider(oil or gas) in the next generation energy solutions makes for a smoother path to consumers who will ultimately fund development with their wallets.
Posted by: Leif Hille | 28 March 2007 at 10:23 PM
In the artikel below (unfortunately in Dutch) Peter van der Lichte of GTC claims that an avarage household can produce 70% of their electriciy with a very small windturbine produced by GTC. In the discussion to this article people question this rather outraguous claim. In stead of answering this critisism with objective test results, he answers with personal attacks, insults and threaths.
If you want to do business with this man, you might reconsider.
http://www.bizz.nl/1610-top-of-flop-windenergie-voor-huishoudens.html
Posted by: Pieter | 14 July 2007 at 07:41 PM