Testing a Residential Fuel Cell for Combined Heat and Power

Mike Bell, Innovative Energy Systems
Mike Swinton and Marianne Manning, National Research Council Canada
Evgueniy Entchev, John Gusdorf, and Frank Szadkowski, Natural Resources Canada

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Abstract

The first fuel cell (FC) in a residential application in Canada was tested at the Canadian Centre for Housing Technology (CCHT). A 5kW second-generation solid oxide fuel cell manufactured in Canada was run for 1587 hours during the late winter and spring of 2005. Modifications to one of the CCHT houses allowed heat from the FC to be used for space heat and hot water, and electricity to be sent to and from the grid. This project demonstrated the performance of a residential FC combined heat and power (CHP) system, and examined residential CHP integration issues such as thermal storage, grid connection, and optimal FC size. Data collection included the FC’s natural gas use and outputs of electricity and heat, electricity to and from the grid, heat to space heat and hot water, and supplementary heat (natural gas) required. The efficiency with which the FC generated electricity (DC & AC) and heat were measured, and found to agree with the manufacturer’s specifications. The average measured efficiencies of the fuel cell, in terms of the lower heating value (LHV) of natural gas, are: DC electrical: 46.6%, AC electrical: 24.7%, and thermal: 27.6%. Combining AC and thermal yields an overall efficiency of 52.3%.