Fuel cells for micro-combined heat and power generation

Micro-combined heat and power (CHP) holds great potential for lowering energy cost and CO₂emissions in the residential housing sector. Of the various micro-CHP technologies,fuelcells, and in particular solidoxidefuelcells, show great promise due to their high electrical efficiency and resulting low heat-to-power ratio that is better suited to residential applications. However,fuelcells are still under development and the capital cost of units available today remains high. This paper looks at the technological aspects and operating modes offuelcells relevant to micro-CHP as well as examining the state of commercial development, life cycle issues and the techno-economics offuelcells for micro-CHP at the residential scale.