Appliance Design - March 2008 - (Page 17)

POWER hours. This is a leap from the 5,000 hours reported for the first version of the fuel cell, the AP1, which was introduced in 2002. Another U.K. company working in this area, Ceres Power Holdings, also relies on fuel cell technology, but of a different stripe. Ceres uses solid-oxide fuel cells, instead of PEM. The company has tested its SOFC-based fuel stack to more than 7,500 hours, as of December 2006. The company also has done testing of more than 50 stacks generating up to 1kW power output with repeated thermal cycling between 20 DegC and 600 DegC without performance degradation. Ceres’ fuel cell is based on SOFC-based fuel cell technology that was developed over a 10-year period at the Londonbased Imperial College, says Bob Flint, Ceres Power’s commercial director. Ceres is targeting its An illustration of how Ceres’ CHP unit works throughout a home. air in the presence of a second catalyst layer, generating water and heat. In 2005, the first CHP product released using Ballard’s fuel cell technology was the Lifuel unit, which operates on natural gas. A year later, a kerosene-powered version, the Eneos Ecoboy, was released. The natural gas version was released first because kerosene is harder to reform and more effort was needed to develop the kerosene version, says Mark Kirby, Ballard’s Director, Cogeneration. The catalyst in the fuel processor needed to be revamped. He says that it is relatively easy to split the molecules of natural gas, but kerosene is a more complicated molecule and a little more of a challenge to split it cleanly and with no left over by products. The key to reforming the kerosene is in the catalyst, but Kirby declined to discuss its make up saying that it was a proprietary technology. The fuel cell, which operates at 65 DegC, runs on hydrogen produced by the reformer. The unit generates 1kW of electricity, and 1.3 kW of heat per kW of electricity. The heat is transferred from the fuel cell to the tank by means a hot water heat exchanger. According to company testing, the units have an energy efficiency of 70 to 80 percent and can cut a home’s energy consumption for heating and electrical needs by 20 to 30 percent depending upon the geographic location of the home. It also can reduce CO2 emissions despite using natural gas and kerosene as its fuel. The natural gas and kerosene are reformed into streams of hydrogen and CO2. The CO2 generated does get emitted from the system, Kirby says, but relative to conventional hot water and electricity production, the CO2 emissions are cut by 30 to 40 percent. Kirby says that one of the main benefits of PEM technology is its ability to cycle on and off, as opposed to running constantly. In testing, the company found that over a projected 10-year life span, the system will start and stop approximately 4,000 times with no fuel cell degradation. For Ballard and other micro CHP suppliers, proving out the durability of the fuel cell is pivotal. Ballard’s new fuel cell, the v3, has been tested out to 40,000 Cost-Effective Control for OEM Applications Temp Flow Pressure New EMC New EMC Multi-Loop Multi-Loop PID Controller PID Controller Heat Cool Alarm Voltage Level Current � Four Independent or Combined Loops of Auto-Tune Control for: PID, On/Off, Cascade, and Feed Forward Small 4.5˝ x 7˝ Size for Subpanel Mounting Communication and Custom Display Options Less Cost than Four Separate Controllers with Similar Capabilities � � � Athena Controls, Inc. For more information contact mktg@athenacontrols.com For more Information Enter 103 www.applianceDESIGN.com AD02082Athena.indd 1 applianceDESIGN March 2008 17 1/8/08 11:13:53 AM http://www.appliancedesign.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Appliance Design - March 2008

Appliance Design - March 2008 Contents Editorial Shipments/Forecasts News Watch A New Appliance is Set to Break into Homes Soon - the Micro CHP Unit, which Generate both Heat and Power. Thermally Enhanced Varistors Help Protect Low-Power Systems Against Damage Caused by Over-Current, Over-Temperature and Over-Voltage Faults. Hybrid Controller Reduces Standby Power Consumption and Improves Active-Mode Efficiency. Battery-Management ICs Solve Design Challenges for Cordless Appliances Using High-Voltage, Lithium-Ion Battery Technology. A Semiconductor Solution Protects the Relay in a Temperature Controller for a Cooking Appliance. New Polyurethane Foam Insulation System Optimizes both Insulation Performance and Productivity. Innovations in Decorative, Pre-Finished Metals Expand Range of Design Options for Appliance Designers. Design Marts Association Report: AHAM Advertiser's Index

Appliance Design - March 2008

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