Micro chp boilers... Do you know what they are?

Okay so this is a kinda follow up thread from my most epic thread yesterday... See HERE in case you missed it...

So anyway on to the point... I was digging and digging on the energy topic in general and came across something which I had never even heard of before... micro chp boilers... It was actually on a wiki page. So I googled it and found that it was a boiler which kinda works on the same idea of those fuel cells in my previous thread, in the sense that it is aimed to improve efficiency... Though in a more conventional way, ie combustion. It just utilizes the waste heat.

Read about it HERE

Now, these are not as good as fuel cells but they are a LOT cheaper, the only one out right now is this... HERE

It is just over 7,000 pounds! Not too shabby right?

Now after I found this (it was launched in 2010) I dug a little more to see if there were any competition... Well, no, not just yet... However I did find this... New energy supplier to offer free boiler AND cheaper bills?

Say what??? I do not watch TV so I'm not sure if this is common knowledge via adverts or news stories etc but no-one has spoken to me about it... So yeah a new energy supplier is hitting the UK and talking the talk... Of course I checked out this company to see if it was indeed up and running yet and found this...

Energetix Group a step closer to supplying energy

Also to note I also checked out their shares and they are very low at the moment and if you look back to 5 years ago it seems they were trading for over 150 and then there was some big crash, they currently trade for 33, that will need to be looked into... But hey guys this could be potentially game changing...

If the news is true they are offering this type of boiler for free if you sign up then count me signed up and investing!

I know this thread will appeal to the UK crowd more but perhaps there are other people in different countries that already use this and maybe give their experience? Or maybe it could inspire you to research for your own country?

What you think guys?

Edit: I really should stop posting at silly hours lol...

Any way I have found their product website now... Here it is... Flow

Just having a look now myself... So far looks good!

Edit: Okay so they are offering the free boiler but they take all the electricity savings until the boiler is paid off and then they start to split the savings with you... It is still pretty good really, you get the boiler for free at least... So your choice is pay 7000 up front and have all the savings or get a free boiler and only receive half the savings when the boiler is paid off... I think this will tide us over until fuel cells become more affordable.

If a boiler is wasting heat then its designed poorly. I understand how this idea works, was investigating it for camping and hiking purposes.
They can only generate electricity if the boiler is poorly designed and wastes heat. If it was designed properly it would convert nearly (always losses) all of the energy into hot water, and if it did that then there'd be little energy left to generate electricity.

Basicaly, if it generates a lot of electricity, its only because it was leaking energy in the first place.

However! this kind of generation would be worth while with a coal or log fire.

reply to post by VoidHawk


Oh boy... Look so you are trying to say then that you will not save money? Even though it has already been proven that this does? I get what you are saying but you are not comparing it fairly... It is more efficient than getting your electric from a power station and having a combi... I mean what are you comparing it to?

Yes the leaking of energy is more efficient than the leaking of energy in a power plant and then the leaking of energy on the grid... So what is the problem here? I don't get it...

Originally posted by mee30
reply to post by VoidHawk

 

Oh boy... Look so you are trying to say then that you will not save money? Even though it has already been proven that this does? I get what you are saying but you are not comparing it fairly... It is more efficient than getting your electric from a power station and having a combi... I mean what are you comparing it to?

Yes the leaking of energy is more efficient than the leaking of energy in a power plant and then the leaking of energy on the grid... So what is the problem here? I don't get it...

edit on 21-1-2013 by mee30 because: (no reason given)

Are you aware of the price of gas?

We use these water heaters to heat water, yes?
Wouldn't it be better if they were to ensure all the heat they generate went into that water?
If it did there'd be nothing left to generate the electricity, true?

Every power generation process wastes power.
In this sytem we first convert gas into heat and some power is lost, then we convert some of the heat into electricity, and again some power is lost.

These methods of converting heat into electricity are great if used in the right situation, but I dont see how using it in a boiler can make any sence, how are their shares doing at the moment?

Whats the point? You have to feed it gas.

I just tied my little solar backup system to the grid. My first full month's electricity bill (December) was down 46% from last year. And I feed it sun, not gas.

reply to post by VoidHawk

Are you aware of the price of gas?

I live in the uk so I should be... Are you aware of the price of electricity?

We use these water heaters to heat water, yes? Wouldn't it be better if they were to ensure all the heat they generate went into that water? If it did there'd be nothing left to generate the electricity, true?

No, we do not use these heaters to heat water, this is not just a heater, it has an engine inside there too which generates electricity, this is not a conventional boiler... So it is no to your next question too because we don't just want hot water here, we want electricity too... The engine gets hot when creating electricity and then that waste heat is used to heat the water etc...

Every power generation process wastes power. In this sytem we first convert gas into heat and some power is lost, then we convert some of the heat into electricity, and again some power is lost.

Ahh I see the problem dude, you got this all confused mate...

Stirling engine micro-CHP This is new to the market, although the principal of the Stirling engine is well established. The electrical output is small relative to the heat output (about 6:1) but this is not necessarily a problem for micro-CHP. The only system currently available with Microgeneration Certification Scheme accreditation is a Stirling engine unit, and these are now being installed in homes in the UK.

Do you see? It is proven more efficient so I don't know why you argue

These methods of converting heat into electricity are great if used in the right situation, but I dont see how using it in a boiler can make any sence, how are their shares doing at the moment?

Yeah, they are not doing that, in fact the opposite... I went through the shares in the op...

You didn't read the op did you?

Look man it's cool, we all get things wrong from time to time.

reply to post by davjan4

Whats the point? You have to feed it gas.

Eh??? Ever heard of biofuel from waste? It was all in my other thread that I linked too... This is more efficient than what we have now and it is affordable...

I just tied my little solar backup system to the grid. My first full month's electricity bill (December) was down 46% from last year. And I feed it sun, not gas.

Solar is cool dude but we live in the UK, we don't know what the sun is! lmao... So what kinda panel do you have anyway? What are the specs? Solar is not perfect by any means but it defo has it's uses... As does this technology. Please see my other thread to get a better idea. Thanks.

Yes I did read your OP.
Go on, admit it, you've bought shares havent you

reply to post by VoidHawk


No but I will seriously consider it after looking into the company some more, perhaps even wait until they actually launch, but I don't know what you think is so funny? Do you think baxi made their CHP for a joke? Do you think this company are basing their entire business model on the technology for a joke?

And if you read it, then how come you didn't get what it even is?

Come on, admit you skimmed it! How many paragraphs did you read? lol

Oh and did you visit the other thread regarding biogas? Which this could be ran on btw.