Environmental need for residential fuel cell CHP
In the EU, the building sector is responsible for 40% of Europe’s energy consumption and 25% of its CO2 emissions[1], with nearly 20% of CO2 emissions from dwellings alone. Evidence is emerging that there is a very large “hard to treat” group of the existing housing stock (primarily urban and old homes), where significant decarbonisation is either technically challenging or prohibitively expensive.
Significant decarbonisation will require a broad suite of technologies and measures to be deployed, ranging from simple insulation to grid decarbonisation. Addressing the retrofit market is crucial if meaningful savings are to be realised; 80% of the homes we will live in in 2050 have already been built. Cost effective solutions are urgently required.
In an appropriate setting, micro FC-CHP can achieve carbon savings of up to 30%[2]. Furthermore, the technology is well suited to the retrofit market, including the substantial “hard to treat” segment and is also compatible with new build properties. micro FC-CHP systems can therefore be a vital component in decarbonising the residential sector.
[1] See for example http://www.eurima.org/uploads/pdf/puttingHouseInOrder/ecofys_repoft_final_160204.pdf
[2] When compared with a natural gas condensing boiler and European grid mix electricity – more if converting from a carbon intensive heating fuel such as oil