We've covered hydrogen fuel cell technology in the past, but our posts have been limited to more industrial-sized applications. The Bloom Box, for instance, power facilities owned by eBay and other businesses.
Now, Panasonic (in conjunction with Tokyo Gas) is looking to sell a home-oriented fuel cell. This new domestic fuel cell product is dubbed the "Ene-Farm," and it offers a 40% energy efficiency rate—the highest in the world.
The Ene-Farm is a marvel of energy efficiency. It offers a 35% energy consumption reduction and a 48% CO2 emission savings compared to drawing power off the grid. These reductions are estimated to save $600 to $715 per year on their power bills. The Ene-Farm does cost about $33,000 though. At that price, it would take about 46 years to recoup your costs, but it's not cheap saving the environment.
The units will be available starting April 1, 2011 from Tokyo Gas.
To learn more about industrial power generation, check out Power and Composite Technologies: www.pactinc.com
