Possibilities Of Using Fuel Cell Generator For Homes

Over the past few years, alternative fuel cells have become popular as individuals have become more concerned about which energy source their residential power is coming up. To cater to the interest of various people and to concern the nonrenewable sources of energy used for grid electricity, companies are coming up with fuel cell generators for homes, providing households with alternative energy options.

Though residential installations are primarily custom-engineered setups, several companies offer full-fledged systems expanding this technology for broader applications.

Firstly The WHY Of Fuel Cells

With more and more homeowners looking for sustainable power sources concerning the environment, these technologies are seeing a significant surge. While some technologies like wind and solar power are also an answer, the method of directly storing it has been a constant problem, and the use of hydrogen fuel cells solves this.

Fuel cells can generate hydrogen from either an electrical power grid or from other power sources like wind and solar panels. Using stored power helps in reducing the load on the grid energy. It also provides power security in times of natural calamities such as storms and other events leading to disruption of power supply.

Fuel Cells Entering In Residential Market

Fuel cells generate electricity by stripping electrons from hydrogen fuel. Only water and heat are emitted after the spent hydrogen combines with oxygen. When fuel cells are tied with solar systems, they use hydrogen when excess solar power passes through an electrolyzer. This hydrogen is then stored to power the fuel cell when the photovoltaic cells do not generate enough to meet the demand.

However, there has been a limitation.

The Limitation:

Over the years, with its rise in functionality, various questions have been raised about the energy consumed to make hydrogen and CO2 generated when hydrogen is extracted from natural gas. Fuel cell operations lead to 47% efficiency. More and more efforts are being made to reduce heat wastage, increasing efficiency levels from 85% to 90%. The industry is constantly working to develop renewable forms of hydrogen-like from biomass, solar, and wind energy, helping reduce production emissions.

Hydrogen Fuel Cells’ Emergence

With more manufacturers joining the fuel cell industry, this will significantly help in lowering the costs across the board. With this increase, people who install fuel cells in their homes can take advantage of the energy credit on their taxes. With more tax incentives, builders will also include fuel cells in new home designs, which can be a boon to people interested in the technology.

Conclusion

Sustainability aims to do the least amount of damage with the highest possible efficiency. Making necessary improvements in the hydrogen fuel cell technology will surely benefit the technology.

Author’s Bio - The author is a blogger and this article discusses the scope and limitation of fuel cell technology for homes.