When the people from flow energy got in touch we were interested by their patented MicroCHP (combined warm as well as power) central heating boiler that makes electrical energy while heating your home.
We asked Flow’s CEO, Tony Stiff, to tell us a bit a lot more about the innovation as well as where he sees wise house micro generation heading in the next decade…
Hi Tony, can you tell us a bit about your background as well as what brought you to the world of heating innovation.
Hi Mark, thanks for having me. I’ve really always had a history of working with energy as well as innovation.
Before I joined flow group, I was the industrial director of Bglobal plc where I assisted verify the idea of their smart-metering products as well as was accountable for protecting industrial contracts with leading energy suppliers. In 2000, I established Atlantic electric as well as Gas Limited, a service backed by US-based Sempra Energy, Inc.
The service swiftly ended up being one of the UK’s leading independent energy suppliers, with over 300,000 customers. In 1994, I established Webbins restricted (“Webbins”). I wished to exploit the space in the market for a software application product that clients might utilize to examine energy contracts. having grown Webbins into a business with over 100 personnel as well as £10m turnover, I negotiated the sale of the business to MMT Computing plc, as well as continued to handle the service for three years afterwards.
For somebody that’s never heard of it before, can you describe the MicroCHP concept?
MicroCHP or ‘micro integrated warm as well as Power’ is a innovation which enables the production of electrical energy in the home. There are a few different versions of the innovation however we utilize the organic Rankine Cycle.
Our microCHP product is a domestic gas boiler. It utilizes patented innovation inside the boiler to produce electrical energy at the exact same time as it’s heating a home. Gas enters the boiler as usual, however instead of heating the water directly, it heats a liquid – a coolant similar to that utilized in refrigerators. This liquid evaporates as well as moves with a scroll expander that begins to spin acting like a little dynamo. The electrical energy it produces can either be utilized in the house or exported to the Grid.
So why do I requirement a boiler that makes electrical energy in addition to heat, can it potentially be as effective as the power station supplying my home?
Big power stations tend to lose a great deal of energy when they produce electricity. a lot more of the energy is lost when that electrical energy is transmitted down power lines to client homes.
The flow boiler produces electrical energy in a extremely effective system in the house as well as the electrical energy is then utilized within the house so there are no losses in transmission. This indicates that the flow boiler produces electrical energy a lot more expense successfully as well as with less carbon emissions than huge power stations do. The flow boiler can produce electrical energy worth around £200 annually – worth £500 if you include Feed-in Tariff payments – as well as it does that by burning only about £50 of extra gas a year, minimizing home carbon emissions by as much as 20%, or 1,000 kg of co2.
Does your state-of-the-art boiler include state-of-the-art controls so I can routine as well as manage it from my smartphone?
The introduce version of the flow boiler is managed with a common thermostat. However, we are working to integrate remote as well as intelligent manage for future versions – so enjoy this space.
The utmost goal will be able to provide clients much better exposure as well as manage over their energy use, all the while, minimizing their carbon footprint as well as general energy bill.
The Automated house currently utilizes a traditional boiler fuelled by heating oil. Can the flow boiler replace this configuration easily?
The flow boiler utilizes natural gas or LPG as well as doesn’t work with heating oil. However, it’s fairly simple to convert a home’s heating system to utilize LPG rather than oil as well as then a flow boiler might be installed just as well as quickly.
Do you have a variety of designs for different sized homes?
Our introduce design is appropriate for 3-5 bedroom houses that currently have a separate hot water tank. We plan to introduce a combination boiler in the future which doesn’t need a separate hot water storage tank as well as which will be appropriate for both larger as well as smaller houses.
To make sure the flow boiler is ideal for a customer’s home, we ask a few quick qualifying concerns as well as then, if the answers match, we conduct a complimentary house survey to confirm.
Are there any type of government grants offered to assist with the costs as well as what’s the payback time for somebody investing inthe flow system?
MicroCHP as a innovation does draw in a devoted Feed-in Tariff. However, to celebrate the introduce of the flow boiler we’re really supplying our own support for the product with a guaranteed payback design over five years. If a client installs a flow boiler, switches their house energy to us as well as assigns Feed-in Tariff payments to us too, then we’ll minimize their house energy expense by £4,800 over five years. That’s a lot more than the expense of the boiler.
Does the flow boiler need expert support or can it be serviced by any type of heating engineer?
The flow boiler will be installed by an recognized flow installer as well as does have to be serviced as well as repaired by an recognized flow installer also. The boiler includes a 2 year manufacturer’s guarantee on the boiler itself as well as a 2 year guarantee on the electricity-generating power module housed within the boiler. However, the power module guarantee continues for as much as 10 years if the client continues to stay with flow for house energy.
With the difficulties that lie ahead for the national grid as well as talk of in-home batteries as well as micro generation, what do you believe the common house energy system will look like a decade from now?
I believe microCHP will be the de facto heating system in 10 years’ time. We’ll still be utilizing gas in 10 years, however the focus will be on utilizing our gas much, much a lot more efficiently, as the flow boiler does. MicroCHP will most likely be complemented in the house energy system by solar for the summertime as well as augmented with a battery option to store the energy produced. Undoubtedly, the whole system will be managed by means of smartphone as well as will have intelligent features as well as functions developed in, to optimise its performance.
Connected gadgets in the house will operate immediately at times when the house energy system is creating a lot of electrical energy as well as may power off when bit electrical energy is being produced. wise meters will enable the development of wise energy tariffs, supplying more affordable energy off height as well as much better benefits for the production of energy at height times.
That vision is why I believe the energy area is so interesting at the moment. energy is so essential to our lives as well as the emergence of the connected, effective house might put energy business in a special setting to provide ingenious options to customers.
Thanks for speaking to us today – where must people go to discover out more?
You’re extremely welcome Mark, say thanks to you for speaking to me. You can discover out all the current info about the flow boiler on our web site – www.flowenergy.uk.com where you can likewise register your interest.
flowenergy.uk.com : Discuss in our Heating Controls Forum
Want More? – Follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook, or sign up for our RSS feed. You can even get these news stories delivered by means of email, directly to your inbox every day.
Share this:
Facebook
Twitter
Reddit
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Email
More
WhatsApp
Print
Skype
Tumblr
Telegram
Pocket