Fuel-cell system cuts fuel bills

Viessmann system converts natural gas into hydrogen in a process that generates heat and power

The UK’s first mass-produced domestic fuel-cell system has been installed in a family home in Wolverhampton.

The system, from heating supplier Viessmann, converts natural gas into hydrogen, a process that generates heat and power. The technology comprises a fuel-cell unit, peak-load boiler (for use on only the coldest days of the year) and hot-water tank. It requires the same connections as a gas boiler: gas, power, hot and cold water feeds and a flue.

The fuel cell will supply the 1910 home with the energy it requires and reduce CO₂ emissions by 50%, compared to the separate generation of heat and power, said Viessmann. Total spend on energy bills will be cut by 36%, about £400 for the Wolverhampton home, due to the on-site generation of electricity. Any excess that is created can be exported to the grid. Based on a feed-in tariff of 15p per kWh, this will provide a return of £600 a year, said the firm.

The energy created by the Vitovalor 300-P – 4,500kWh a year – is equivalent to that generated by 30m² of solar PV panels, which in practice would involve covering both sides of a large roof. Yet the fuel-cell unit just takes up the space of a fridge freezer without any impact on the external aesthetics of the property.

Viessmann developed the Vitovalor 300-P polymer electrolyte fuel-cell-based micro combined heat and power system with Panasonic. Panasonic provided the fuel cell, proven in thousands of electricity dependent homes in Japan, and combined it with the German manufacturer’s heating and control technology.

Viessmann’s marketing director Darren McMahon said: “To reduce CO₂ emissions and make ourselves more energy efficient, we need to develop solutions for gas. Microgeneration – people generating electricity on site – is about twice as efficient as relying on centralised power stations.”