First hydrogen fuel cell for the home (Japan)

[jpak]

http://www.plentymag.com/thecurrent/2008/07/first_hydrogen_fuel_cell_for_t.php

Japanese electronics company Matsushita, best known for its Panasonic line of home electronics and appliances, will claim first place in the race to put commercial home fuel cells on the market, but a slew of other companies are in tow.

The fuel cell can optimally provide 70 percent of the energy needs for a 1,280 square foot house with four people. According to Matsushita, the cell can reduce energy consumption by 22 percent and CO2 emissions by 12 percent as compared to all other power sources. The unit is guaranteed to last 40,000 hours, which amounts to ten years of operation, roughly the same amount of time it will take a consumer in Japan to recoup their initial investment. (The government will subsidize the purchase, although how much remains undetermined. The company estimates a $10,000 investment by consumers.)

Customers will purchase the fuel cell system from a local gas company, who will install it, a fairly simple process says Matsushita.

While fuel cell technology takes many different forms, in this case, the cogeneration home fuel cell hooks up to the city’s natural gas lines, extracting hydrogen from the gas in a fuel-processing device. The stream of hydrogen is combined with oxygen through a series of polyelectrolyte membranes, a process that creates electricity, heat, and water. The home fuel cell produces between 500 watts and a 1 kilowatt of electricity and captures the heat to warm a tank of water, used for showers, dishes etc.

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