UK fuel cell developer Ceres Power says it has completed the design, build and testing of 1 kW grid-connected CHP products that meets all of the deliverables under the 'Alpha' phase of its CHP programme in conjunction with its partner British Gas.
The products were tested on mains natural gas under representative residential operating conditions, meeting most of a typical home's electricity requirements as well as exporting and importing power to and from the grid as required. Ceres says that its CHP product integrates the company's 1 kW fuel cell module with ancillary boiler components into a single unit that will meet all of a home's hot water and central heating requirements, avoiding the need for a separate boiler. The wall-mountable CHP product uses the same natural gas, water and electricity connections as existing boilers.
British Gas has issued an acceptance certificate that triggers a £2 million Alpha milestone payment to be paid to Ceres.
The company has already commenced the design and procurement activities of the Beta phase of the CHP programme ? to produce Beta CHP units for in-field trials. The company says it is on track to achieve market launch of the residential CHP product with British Gas in 2011.
full article
Thursday, 4 June 2009
Saturday, 16 May 2009
Flat-screen light bulbs
Researchers have demonstrated white, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) sources with the same efficiency as fluorescent light bulbs.
The result brings closer the prospect that OLEDs will be the flat-screen light sources of choice in the future.
The limited lifetime of the blue-emitting part of the devices means they survive for just hours, but new blue-emitting materials are on the horizon.
The results are published in the journal Nature.
There has been significant work in OLEDs in recent years, so that small displays and even televisions based on the technology are beginning to come to market.
Though much of the technology would be the same for lighting, the key word for light bulbs is efficiency - and OLEDs had not, until now, passed the efficiency benchmark set by fluorescent bulbs.
Two different types of organic polymers can be used in the devices: phosphorescent and fluorescent.
While fluorescent materials - the kind used in OLED displays and televisions - are significantly longer-lived, they are only one-fourth as efficient.
Recent research has therefore focused on optimising the efficiency and lifetime of devices based on phosphorescent materials.
full article
The result brings closer the prospect that OLEDs will be the flat-screen light sources of choice in the future.
The limited lifetime of the blue-emitting part of the devices means they survive for just hours, but new blue-emitting materials are on the horizon.
The results are published in the journal Nature.
There has been significant work in OLEDs in recent years, so that small displays and even televisions based on the technology are beginning to come to market.
Though much of the technology would be the same for lighting, the key word for light bulbs is efficiency - and OLEDs had not, until now, passed the efficiency benchmark set by fluorescent bulbs.
Two different types of organic polymers can be used in the devices: phosphorescent and fluorescent.
While fluorescent materials - the kind used in OLED displays and televisions - are significantly longer-lived, they are only one-fourth as efficient.
Recent research has therefore focused on optimising the efficiency and lifetime of devices based on phosphorescent materials.
full article
Tuesday, 12 May 2009
Smart meters to cost each household £150
Every family in the country could have an energy smart meter within the next decade, the government said today.
Some 26m electricity and 22m gas meters will be fitted at a cost of £7bn, which will be picked up by the energy giants.
Commentators said it was inevitable this cost would be passed on to consumers, however, with industry sources saying it was the equivalent of £15 per household per year between 2010 and 2020 – or £150 in total.
After the initial cost, a typical family could save up to 15 per cent a year, or £187 off their annual bill, according to figures from Uswitch.com, the comparison site.Smart meters monitor your household’s energy consumption and send the information back to your energy supplier, so it dispenses with the need for meter readings.
The meters also have a small screen allowing households to monitor their own usage, and cut back if their consumption is too high.
Tom Lyon, energy expert at Uswitch.com said: “Today’s announcement from the government to equip every home in the UK with a smart meter by 2020 marks a great news day for all energy users. It may seem like a long deadline, but this is a huge programme and it’s important that it’s completed as effectively as possible, with minimum disruption to consumers.
“At last, it will also mark the end of meter readings and estimated bills. Our research has shown that almost 11 million consumers have unexpectedly owed money to their supplier following a discrepancy between an estimated and actual meter reading.”
Uswitch said that, on average, customers owed £142 as a result of estimated readings, with a fifth owing between £101-£200.
full article
Some 26m electricity and 22m gas meters will be fitted at a cost of £7bn, which will be picked up by the energy giants.
Commentators said it was inevitable this cost would be passed on to consumers, however, with industry sources saying it was the equivalent of £15 per household per year between 2010 and 2020 – or £150 in total.
After the initial cost, a typical family could save up to 15 per cent a year, or £187 off their annual bill, according to figures from Uswitch.com, the comparison site.Smart meters monitor your household’s energy consumption and send the information back to your energy supplier, so it dispenses with the need for meter readings.
The meters also have a small screen allowing households to monitor their own usage, and cut back if their consumption is too high.
Tom Lyon, energy expert at Uswitch.com said: “Today’s announcement from the government to equip every home in the UK with a smart meter by 2020 marks a great news day for all energy users. It may seem like a long deadline, but this is a huge programme and it’s important that it’s completed as effectively as possible, with minimum disruption to consumers.
“At last, it will also mark the end of meter readings and estimated bills. Our research has shown that almost 11 million consumers have unexpectedly owed money to their supplier following a discrepancy between an estimated and actual meter reading.”
Uswitch said that, on average, customers owed £142 as a result of estimated readings, with a fifth owing between £101-£200.
full article
Monday, 11 May 2009
The rewards of solar panels
The initial cost is high, but don't let that put you off. Two key developments in recent months have made it worth considering solar PV panels.
One is that a government incentive for PV doubled on 1 April and the other is that interest rates on many savings accounts have dropped to about 0.1%, meaning it is time your money worked harder.
And don't be deterred by the idea Britain doesn't get enough sunshine. In fact, solar radiation here is remarkably consistent and only around one third less than southern Italy or Spain. I have just come to the end of my second year with a solar PV system on my roof and it has been a great success.
We have a 3kW peak system (about 4m by 3m) on the roof. It produced 2,703kW hours (kWh) in its second full year (to 5 April), only 1% lower than the 2,730 kWh it produced in the first year, and that in spite of a lousy 2008 summer.
That was about 80% of the 3,500 kWh we used, and our usage was up because we had builders do some underpinning, which meant lots of kettles and cement mixers on.
The previous year we – a family of four – used 3,000 kWh, so the solar system produced 92% of our needs, a figure we expect to return to in the coming 12 months.
The panels, made by Kyocera of Japan, come with a 25-year guarantee and should last a lot longer than that. What you effectively do when you buy a solar PV system is pre-buy decades of electricity at today's price, thus shielding you from price rises. One great thing about a PV system is that it is "fit and forget" with little or no maintenance or noise. And they don't have to go on a directly south-facing roof – ours points south-east and works very well.
So how do the figures work out? Well, buying 3,000 kWh of electricity normally would cost around £420, based on 14 pence/kWh with npower, our supplier. We end up saving almost £400 of that by producing nearly all our own.
On top of that, we were getting payments under the government's Renewable Obligation Certification (ROC) scheme of around £35 per megawatt/hour, rounded to the nearest whole one. So that is £105, putting us about £70 in the black for the year.
Since 1 April, that ROC payment has doubled to £210, putting us about £175 in the black. That compares with £420 in the red without the panels – a gain of almost £600 a year.
Indeed, the system means that, with a condensing boiler, we are now down to only about £30 a month to heat and light our property while our carbon emissions are very low. So what about the investment yield? The system cost £17,000, for which we got a 50% grant, making £8,500. With a return of £600, that's around 7%. It's not taxed, so is equivalent of about 9% for a basic-rate taxpayer and 11% for a higher-rate taxpayer. You'd struggle to do better buying junk bonds and this stuff is certainly not junk!
full article
One is that a government incentive for PV doubled on 1 April and the other is that interest rates on many savings accounts have dropped to about 0.1%, meaning it is time your money worked harder.
And don't be deterred by the idea Britain doesn't get enough sunshine. In fact, solar radiation here is remarkably consistent and only around one third less than southern Italy or Spain. I have just come to the end of my second year with a solar PV system on my roof and it has been a great success.
We have a 3kW peak system (about 4m by 3m) on the roof. It produced 2,703kW hours (kWh) in its second full year (to 5 April), only 1% lower than the 2,730 kWh it produced in the first year, and that in spite of a lousy 2008 summer.
That was about 80% of the 3,500 kWh we used, and our usage was up because we had builders do some underpinning, which meant lots of kettles and cement mixers on.
The previous year we – a family of four – used 3,000 kWh, so the solar system produced 92% of our needs, a figure we expect to return to in the coming 12 months.
The panels, made by Kyocera of Japan, come with a 25-year guarantee and should last a lot longer than that. What you effectively do when you buy a solar PV system is pre-buy decades of electricity at today's price, thus shielding you from price rises. One great thing about a PV system is that it is "fit and forget" with little or no maintenance or noise. And they don't have to go on a directly south-facing roof – ours points south-east and works very well.
So how do the figures work out? Well, buying 3,000 kWh of electricity normally would cost around £420, based on 14 pence/kWh with npower, our supplier. We end up saving almost £400 of that by producing nearly all our own.
On top of that, we were getting payments under the government's Renewable Obligation Certification (ROC) scheme of around £35 per megawatt/hour, rounded to the nearest whole one. So that is £105, putting us about £70 in the black for the year.
Since 1 April, that ROC payment has doubled to £210, putting us about £175 in the black. That compares with £420 in the red without the panels – a gain of almost £600 a year.
Indeed, the system means that, with a condensing boiler, we are now down to only about £30 a month to heat and light our property while our carbon emissions are very low. So what about the investment yield? The system cost £17,000, for which we got a 50% grant, making £8,500. With a return of £600, that's around 7%. It's not taxed, so is equivalent of about 9% for a basic-rate taxpayer and 11% for a higher-rate taxpayer. You'd struggle to do better buying junk bonds and this stuff is certainly not junk!
full article
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