Could a generator-heater be in your future?
One of my big soapbox items is that people should be able to generate electricity at home and feed that back into the grid to help the whole system and shave money off their bill. I usually think about solar, wind, or even micro-hydro when I envision this system, but here’s an interesting idea, a gas-fired generator that powers the house, surplus heat heats the house, and extra power goes back into the grid.
Customers who have been beta testing the system in Massachusetts end up with comparatively tiny electric charges of a few dollars in winter months, Guyer said.
That’s because the power generated in their homes–about 1.2 kilowatts–offsets their monthly, grid-delivered electricity and is subtracted from their bill. If the power produced exceeds the electrical needs at a given moment, the meter runs backward as power is fed back onto the grid.
At $13,500, the cost of the system is roughly twice what somebody would pay for a high-end furnace, Guyer said. But he calculates that people can save $800 to $1,000 a year on electricity, which means the payback would be quicker than conventional heating.
Of course part of the problem here is the use of natural gas, or is it? A natural gas system could be retrofit to use methane generated by farms, landfills, etc. Hmm, could be onto something there.
Tags: home energy
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