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A home fuel cell or a residential fuel cell is an electrochemical cell used for primary or backup power generation. They are similar to the larger industrial stationary fuel cells, but built on a smaller scale for residential use. These fuel cells are usually based on combined heat and power (CHP) or micro combined heat and power (m-CHP) technology, generating both power and heated water or air.
Home fuel cells are usually not standalone installations due to their near inability to consistently produce the exact amount of electricity and heat needed. Instead, they may rely on the grid when the electricity production is above or below what is needed. Additionally, a home fuel cell may be combined with a traditional furnace that produces only heat. For example, the German company Viessmann produces a home fuel cell with an electric power of 0.75kW and a thermal power of 1kW, integrated with a traditional 19kW heat producing furnace, using the grid for electricity needs below and above the fuel cell production. [1]
PEMFC fuel cell m-CHP operates at low temperature (50 to 100°C) and requires high purity hydrogen. It is prone to contamination, and changes can be made to operate at higher temperatures and improve the fuel reformer. The SOFC fuel cell m-CHP operates at a high temperature (500 to 1,000 °CP) and can handle different energy sources, but the high temperature requires expensive materials to handle the temperature. Changes can be made to operate at a lower temperature. Because of the higher temperature, SOFCs in general have a longer start-up time.
Because the home fuel cell generates electricity and heat that are both used on site, theoretical efficiency approaches 100%. This is in contrast to traditional or fuel cell non-domestic electricity production, which has both a transmission loss and useless heat, requiring extra energy consumption for domestic heating. The home fuel cell cannot generate exactly the needed amount of both heat and electricity at all times. Therefore, they are typically not a standalone installation but rather combined with a traditional furnace and connected to the grid for electricity needs above or below that produced by the fuel cell. As such, the overall efficiency is below 100%.
The optimum efficiency of home fuel cell has caused some countries, such as Germany, to economically support their installation as part of a policy reacting to climate change. [2]
Home fuel cells are designed and built to fit in either an interior mechanical room or outside—running quietly in the background 24/7. Connected to the utility grid through the home's main service panel and using net metering, the home fuel cells can easily integrate with existing electrical and hydronic systems and are compliant with utility interconnection requirements. In the event of grid interruption, the system automatically switches to operate in a grid-independent mode to provide continuous backup power for dedicated circuits in the home while the grid is down. It can also be modified to run off-the-grid.
Twenty companies have installed Bloom Energy fuel cells in their buildings, including Google, eBay, and FedEx. [3] The eBay CEO told 60 Minutes , that they have saved $100,000 in electricity bills in the 9 months they have been installed.[ when? ] [4]
Oregon-based ClearEdge Power had until 2014 installed 5 kW systems at the homes of Jackie Autry, [5] Bay Area Wealth Manager Bruce Raabe [6] and VC investor Gary Dillabough. [7]
A commercially working cell is called Eni-Farm in Japan and is supported by the regional government, which uses natural gas to power up the fuel cell to produce electricity and heated water.
In 2013, 64% of global sales of the fuel cell micro-combined heat and power passed the conventional mechanical rotary systems in sales in 2012. [8]
Fuel cells have an average lifetime of around 60,000 hours. For PEM fuel cell units, which shut down at night, this equates to an estimated lifetime of between ten and fifteen years. [9]
Most home fuel cells are comparable to residential solar energy photovoltaic systems on a dollar-per-watt-installed basis.[ citation needed ] Some natural gas-driven home fuel cells can generate eight times more energy per year than the same-sized solar installation, even in the best solar locations[ citation needed ]. For example, a 5 kW home fuel cell produces about 80 MWh of annual combined electricity and heat, compared to approximately 10MWh generated by a 5 kW solar system. However, these systems are not directly comparable because solar power is a renewable resource with basically no operating cost, while natural gas is neither.
Operating costs for home fuel cells can be as low as 6.0¢ per kWh based on $1.20 per therm for natural gas, assuming full electrical and heat load utilization.[ where? ][ citation needed ]
Residential fuel cells can have high initial capital costs – As of December 2012, Panasonic and Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. sold about 21,000 PEM Eni-Farm units in Japan for a price of $22,600 before installation. [10]
In the U.S.A., home fuel cells are eligible for substantial incentives and rebates at both the state and federal levels as a part of renewable energy policy. For example, the California Self Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) rebate ($2,500 per kW) and Federal Tax Credits ($1,000 per kW residential and $3,000 per kW commercial) significantly reduce the net capital cost to the customer. For businesses, additional cash advantages can be realized from bonuses and accelerated depreciation of fuel cells. [11]
In addition, home fuel cells receive net metering credit in many service areas for any excess electricity generated but not used by putting it back on the utility grid. [12]
The Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE) provides comprehensive information on state, local, utility, and federal incentives that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. [13]
In California in particular, utilities charge higher per kWh rates as energy consumption rises above established baselines – with the top tier set at the highest rates to discourage consumption at those levels. Home fuel cells reduce customer exposure to the top tier rates, saving homeowners as much as 45% in reduced annual energy costs. [14]
Home fuel cells are a new market and represent a fundamental shift in the sourcing of energy. [15] An individual home fuel cell system installed in a US home aligns with U.S. energy independence. Home fuel cell systems in homes could lessen reliance on public utilities, increase energy efficiency, and reduce US dependence on foreign energy imports. [16] This self-generation of energy in a distributed generation approach would secure and increase US power generating capacity, enabling unused electricity to be sent back to the grids without having to add new power plants and transmission lines.[ citation needed ]
Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery to end users or its storage, using for example, the pumped-storage method.
Distributed generation, also distributed energy, on-site generation (OSG), or district/decentralized energy, is electrical generation and storage performed by a variety of small, grid-connected or distribution system-connected devices referred to as distributed energy resources (DER).
Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially used for electricity generation and as photosensors.
Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time.
Micro combined heat and power, micro-CHP, µCHP or mCHP is an extension of the idea of cogeneration to the single/multi family home or small office building in the range of up to 50 kW. Usual technologies for the production of heat and power in one common process are e.g. internal combustion engines, micro gas turbines, stirling engines or fuel cells.
Microgeneration is the small-scale production of heat or electric power from a "low carbon source," as an alternative or supplement to traditional centralized grid-connected power.
Financial incentives for photovoltaics are incentives offered to electricity consumers to install and operate solar-electric generating systems, also known as photovoltaics (PV).
A feed-in tariff is a policy mechanism designed to accelerate investment in renewable energy technologies by offering long-term contracts to renewable energy producers. This means promising renewable energy producers an above-market price and providing price certainty and long-term contracts that help finance renewable energy investments. Typically, FITs award different prices to different sources of renewable energy in order to encourage the development of one technology over another. For example, technologies such as wind power and solar PV are awarded a higher price per kWh than tidal power. FITs often include a "digression": a gradual decrease of the price or tariff in order to follow and encourage technological cost reductions.
Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to convert light into an electric current. Concentrated solar power systems use lenses or mirrors and solar tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight to a hot spot, often to drive a steam turbine.
Energy recycling is the energy recovery process of using energy that would normally be wasted, usually by converting it into electricity or thermal energy. Undertaken at manufacturing facilities, power plants, and large institutions such as hospitals and universities, it significantly increases efficiency, thereby reducing energy costs and greenhouse gas pollution simultaneously. The process is noted for its potential to mitigate global warming profitably. This work is usually done in the form of combined heat and power or waste heat recovery.
A photovoltaic system, also called a PV system or solar power system, is an electric power system designed to supply usable solar power by means of photovoltaics. It consists of an arrangement of several components, including solar panels to absorb and convert sunlight into electricity, a solar inverter to convert the output from direct to alternating current, as well as mounting, cabling, and other electrical accessories to set up a working system. It may also use a solar tracking system to improve the system's overall performance and include an integrated battery.
Solar power has been growing rapidly in the U.S. state of California because of high insolation, community support, declining solar costs, and a renewable portfolio standard which requires that 60% of California's electricity come from renewable resources by 2030, with 100% by 2045. Much of this is expected to come from solar power via photovoltaic facilities or concentrated solar power facilities.
The Bloom Energy Server or Bloom Box is a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) power generator made by Bloom Energy, of Sunnyvale, California, that takes a variety of input fuels, including liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons produced from biological sources, to produce electricity at or near the site where it will be used. It withstands temperatures of up to 1,800 °F (980 °C). According to the company, a single cell generates 25 watts.
Electrical energy efficiency on United States farms covers the use of electricity on farms and the methods and incentives for improving the efficiency of that use.
The Business Energy Investment Tax Credit (ITC) is a U.S. federal corporate tax credit that is applicable to commercial, industrial, utility, and agricultural sectors. Eligible technologies for the ITC are solar water heat, solar space heat, solar thermal electric, solar thermal process heat, photovoltaics, wind, biomass, geothermal electric, fuel cells, geothermal heat pumps, CHP/cogeneration, solar hybrid lighting, microturbines, and geothermal direct-use.
Solar power is an important contributor to electricity generation in Italy, accounting for 8% of the total in 2017. As of 2022, the country has a total installed capacity of 22.56 GW. In 2019, Italy set a national goal of reaching 50 GW by 2030.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to solar energy:
Denmark is a leading country in renewable energy production and usage. Renewable energy sources collectively produced 81% of Denmark's electricity generation in 2022, and are expected to provide 100% of national electric power production from 2030. Including energy use in the heating/cooling and transport sectors, Denmark is expected to reach 100% renewable energy in 2050, up from the 34% recorded in 2021.
Net metering in New Mexico is a set of state public policies that govern the relationship between solar customers and electric utility companies.
California produces more renewable energy than any other state in the United States except Texas. In 2018, California ranked first in the nation as a producer of electricity from solar, geothermal, and biomass resources and fourth in the nation in conventional hydroelectric power generation. As of 2017, over half of the electricity (52.7%) produced was from renewable sources.
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