Energy Consulting For A Greener Future

As the economy and the climate changes, our need for a more economical and greener energy supply grows. There have been, and still are, a number of methods of producing this type of energy, some of which are in place already and some of which have never seen the light of day.

Hydrogen is a classic example of an energy source that has the potential to be a green fuel if the electrolysation is powered via renewable energy sources but it has had trouble getting a foothold in the energy market. Energy consultants have heralded hydrogen power as a clean and sustainable resource for many years now, but its application has mainly been promoted within the motoring industry where the need for efficient, lightweight and high performance cells has been difficult to meet.

The lesser known application for hydrogen as a domestic fuel source is really where the technology may be able to gain some ground on its competitors in the energy industry. A full scale hydrogen energy plant is currently in operation in Denmark, and by all accounts is generating energy cleanly and efficiently. Denmark produces around fifty per cent more energy than it consumes through its most abundant natural resource, wind power.

This excess energy generated by wind turbines is being used to electrolyse water and store the resulting hydrogen in cells that can power both domestic and industrial facilities. This power plant is making this process even more efficient by using the oxygen as well as hydrogen produced by electrolysis to produce Combined Heat and Power, known in the energy consulting business as CHP.

CHP, also called co-generation is a system that utilises all the energy produced by a fuel. Typically, a power station will generate both energy to be used by a consumer, and heat as a by product. In some power stations, as little as half the available energy is lost as excess heat.

CHP harnesses the heat produced and uses it for heating domestic or commercial buildings. This method can see a reduction in energy consumption by as much as 35 per cent; or an increase in efficiency from 55 per cent to around 90 per cent. In the Danish power plant, the oxygen is harnessed and used to speed up the biological processes in the local domestic water treatment plant. The hydrogen is then stored as normal to power micro CHP stations, designed specifically for residential use.

CHP technology has been in place for many years, but confined to use in industry only. Its return with eyes on the prize in the domestic market is welcome by many energy consultants as a way to use energy more efficiently, and yet micro CHP technology is still receiving opposition from certain sectors in the energy sector.

It has been proposed that by 2011 a new type of domestic boiler will be on the market that will be set to replace old style energy inefficient boilers as they run their natural lifespan. The new CHP boilers will reduce the carbon output by a possible 2.5 tonnes per household per year and have the potential to generate enough excess energy to be sold back to the energy companies. The new technology comes with a price though, and that is the price tag.

Unless the new boilers are a financially attractive option, micro CHP technology will face the same problems as its environmentally friendly hydrogen producing cousin, by failing to be recommended within the energy consulting industry altogether.