FOR many in Britain, central heating is part and parcel of normal life, but it is expensive to run and is a major drain on the Bank of Mum and Dad.
It would be great if a really cheap, green alternative to currently available ways of heating the home could be found.
Scientists at Newcastle University, working with specialists from other universities – including in China – reckon they have come up with a super-efficient system that has the potential to power, heat and cool homes across the UK.
It works by burning vegetable oil – that basically means cooking oil and the like – to power a generator and provide electricity for the home.
One of the potential oils to be used in the system comes from the seeds of the Croton Megalocarpus plant, which grows in East Africa.
This plant has the advantage of being able to grow on land that is not suitable for traditional farming or food production – apparently providing a fuel without sacrificing land for food crops.
Waste heat produced in the Newcastle process is then used to provide heating and hot water, and is also converted to cool a fridge.
At each step, the waste heat that is produced from engine gases and cooling is used elsewhere to recover the maximum amount of energy from the system.
In addition to this, the plant producing the fuel absorbs carbon while growing – resulting in near zero overall carbon emissions.
Using these three forms of energy for home use is known as micro-trigeneration and this new design will take the concept of combined heat and power to the next level.
The design also includes what is claimed to be a unique energy storage system.
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