Wednesday, May 21, 2008

New boiler supplements your home's energy

Admittedly, it's the wrong season to be talking about boilers, but innovation waits for on one. Next time you're in the market for a new home heating system, you might want to check into boiler that produces enough energy to cover 80% of your home's power needs. The technology is called mCHP (micro Combined Heat and Power), and it heats your home and water like a conventional boiler, only it recaptures lost energy like a hybrid car.

Just like with any other power generating household device, excess electricity can be sold back to the grid to help the boiler pay for itself -- which should take no more than 5 years (depending on much you run your heater). Apparently, a company called Climate Energy has been selling boiler/generators since 2007. In the EU and Japan, mCHP boilers have a little more history. Where I live, it's a little too hot to think about running a boiler for more than 3 months out of the year, so my question is: can't we do the same thing with air conditioners?

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