xhwhf When the guys from flow energy got in touch we were intrigued by their patented MicroCHP (combined heat and power) central heating boiler that makes electricity while heating your Domov.
We asked Flow’s CEO, Tony Stiff, to tell us a bit more about the technology and where he sees smart home micro generation heading in the next decade…
Hi Tony, can you tell us a bit about your background and what brought you to the world of heating innovation.
Hi Mark, thanks for having me. I’ve actually always had a history of working with energy and innovation.
Before I joined flow group, I was the commercial director of Bglobal plc where I helped prove the concept of their smart-metering products and was responsible for securing commercial contracts with leading energy suppliers. In 2000, I founded Atlantic electric and Gas Limited, a business backed by US-based Sempra Energy, Inc.
The business quickly became one of the UK’s leading independent energy suppliers, with over 300,000 customers. In 1994, I founded Webbins limited (“Webbins”). I wanted to exploit the gap in the market for a software product that customers could use to evaluate energy contracts. having grown Webbins into a company with over 100 staff and £10m turnover, I negotiated the sale of the company to MMT Computing plc, and continued to manage the business for three years afterwards.
For someone that’s never heard of it before, can you explain the MicroCHP concept?
MicroCHP or ‘micro combined heat and Power’ is a technology which allows the production of electricity in the home. There are a few different versions of the technology but we use the organic Rankine Cycle.
Our microCHP product is a domestic gas boiler. It uses patented technology inside the boiler to generate electricity at the same time as it’s heating a home. Gas enters the boiler as usual, but instead of heating the water directly, it heats a liquid – a coolant similar to that used in refrigerators. This liquid evaporates and moves through a scroll expander that begins to spin acting like a small dynamo. The electricity it generates can either be used in the home or exported to the Grid.
So why do I need a boiler that makes electricity as well as heat, can it possibly be as efficient as the power station supplying my home?
Big power stations tend to lose a lot of energy when they generate electricity. more of the energy is lost when that electricity is transmitted down power lines to customer homes.
The flow boiler generates electricity in a highly efficient system in the home and the electricity is then used within the home so there are no losses in transmission. This means that the flow boiler generates electricity more cost effectively and with less carbon emissions than big power stations do. The flow boiler can generate electricity worth around £200 each year – worth £500 if you include Feed-in Tariff payments – and it does that by burning only about £50 of additional gas a year, reducing household carbon emissions by up to 20%, or 1,000 kg of co2.
Does your high-tech boiler come with high-tech controls so I can schedule and control it from my smartphone?
The launch version of the flow boiler is controlled with a standard thermostat. However, we are working to integrate remote and intelligent control for future versions – so watch this space.
The ultimate aim will be able to give customers better visibility and control over their energy use, all the while, reducing their carbon footprint and overall energy bill.
The Automated home currently uses a conventional boiler fuelled by heating oil. Can the flow boiler replace this setup easily?
The flow boiler uses natural gas or LPG and doesn’t work with heating oil. However, it’s relatively easy to convert a home’s heating system to use LPG rather than oil and then a flow boiler could be installed simply and quickly.
Do you have a range of models for different sized homes?
Our launch model is suitable for 3-5 bedroom homes that currently have a separate hot water tank. We plan to launch a combination boiler in the future which doesn’t require a separate hot water tank and which will be suitable for both larger and smaller houses.
To make sure the flow boiler is right for a customer’s home, we ask a few quick qualifying questions and then, if the answers match, we conduct a free home survey to confirm.
Are there any government grants available to help with the costs and what’s the payback time for someone investing in the flow system?
MicroCHP as a technology does attract a dedicated Feed-in Tariff. However, to celebrate the launch of the flow boiler we’re actually providing our own support for the product with a guaranteed payback model over five years. If a customer installs a flow boiler, switches their home energy to us and assigns Feed-in Tariff payments to us too, then we’ll reduce their home energy bill by £4,800 over five years. To je viac ako náklady na kotol.
Vyžaduje prietokový kotol špecializovanú podporu alebo ho môže obsluhovať nejaký vykurovací inžinier?
Prietokový kotol bude inštalovaný akreditovaným inštalátorom prietoku a musí byť obsluhovaný a opravený akreditovaným inštalatérom toku. Kotol je dodávaný s dvojročnou zárukou výrobcu na samotnom kotle a dvojročnou zárukou na výkonový modul generujúci elektrinu umiestnený v kotle. Záruka napájacieho modulu však pokračuje až 10 rokov, ak zákazník naďalej zostáva s tokom pre domácu energiu.
Čo si myslíte, že s výzvami, ktoré sú pred nami pre národnú mriežku a hovoria o domácich batériách a mikro generácii, bude vyzerať štandardný systém domácej energie ako o desať rokov?
Verím, že Microchp bude de facto vykurovacím systémom za 10 rokov. Stále budeme používať plyn za 10 rokov, ale dôraz sa kladie na používanie nášho plynu oveľa, oveľa efektívnejšie, ako to robí prietokový kotol. Microchp bude pravdepodobne dopĺňaný v systéme domácej energie solárnou energiou na leto a rozšírená o roztok batérie na ukladanie vyrobenej energie. Celý systém bude nepochybne ovládaný prostredníctvom smartfónu a bude mať zabudované inteligentné funkcie a funkcie, aby sa optimalizoval jeho výkon.
Pripojené zariadenia v domácnosti budú fungovať automaticky v čase, keď systém domácej energie vyrába väčšinu elektriny a môže sa vypnúť, keď sa vyrába malá elektrina. Inteligentné merače umožnia tvorbu inteligentných energetických taríf, poskytujú lacnejšiu energiu mimo vrcholu a lepšie odmeny za výrobu energie v špičkových časoch.
Táto vízia je dôvod, prečo si myslím, že energetický priestor je momentálne taký vzrušujúci. Energia je pre naše životy taká zásadná a vznik prepojeného a efektívneho domu by energetickým spoločnostiam priniesol jedinečnú pozíciu na poskytovanie inovatívnych riešení zákazníkom.
Ďakujeme, že ste sa s nami porozprávali – kam by sa mali ľudia dozvedieť viac?
Ste veľmi vítaní Mark, ďakujem, že ste sa so mnou rozprávali. Na našej webovej stránke nájdete všetky najnovšie informácie o kotle toku – www.flowenergy.uk.com, kde môžete tiež zaregistrovať svoj záujem.
flowenergy.uk.com: Diskutujte o našom fóre kontroly vykurovania
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