Combined Heat and Power Co-Generator Units for Your Home

Co-generators are more commonly seen in industrial applications as opposed to residential use but a few companies have begun marketing micro co-generators specifically for that purpose. These environmentally friendly and money saving appliances will become the next wave of home energy saving devices. A micro co-generation or combined heat and power (CHP) unit provides heat, air conditioning, electricity, and hot water from a single source. The CHP unit is basically a small internal combustion engine equipped to generate electricity and to provide household hot water and heat that operates on natural gas, fuel oil, or biodiesel.

Operating at nearly 90% efficiency, Combined Heat and Power units help reduce energy cost, carbon emissions, greenhouse gases, and dependent on foreign oil. Converting fuel into usable energy is not a new thing, however, obtaining 90% efficiency while doing so is almost unheard of. The micro co-generators key to boosted efficiency is it makes use of the heat normally lost. When it runs its air conditioning equipment, it uses the engine's mechanical energy to drive the refrigeration compressor directly. Durable heat exchangers installed on the engines' exhaust and engine block enables the unit to reuse this heat to generate space and water heating energy.

This technology is widely used in Japan, Great Britain, and New Zealand, but is not very popular in the U.S. The biggest problem for its slow U.S. growth is due to the lack of professionally qualified technicians who can successfully install the systems according to the homeowner's wants and needs. Introduced to the U.S. market approximately 3 years ago, consumers and heat plant contractors both lack knowledge of this home heating and cooling efficient technology. With an average installed price of approximately $15,000.00, for a micro co-generator unit that will deliver 34,000 BTUs per hour of air conditioning, 60,000 BTUs per hour for space and water heating, and 6000w of electricity, these units will fit easily in most homeowners remodeling budget.

Polar Power, www.polarpowerinc.com and Climate Energy, www.climate-energy.com are two of the firms you can obtain more information from about micro co-generator units. As home heating fuel cost continues to rise and green living awareness continues to gain momentum, micro co-generator appliances will increase in popularity and become the wise choice. Efficient heating and cooling technology of this caliber could solve a lot of problems for many home owners, reducing their monthly energy cost being at the head of the list.

Resource: Climate Energy Freewatt Brochure

Green, energy efficiency, micro cogenerators, combined heat and power unit,