Industry News
Prodrive develops sterling engines for Disenco household heating systems
19th April 2007
The British motorsport specialist and new owner of Aston Martin, Prodrive, is helping to create the latest generation of household heating and power by working with energy specialist, Disenco Energy Plc, to bring its sterling engine-driven micro combined heat and power (mCHP) unit to the domestic market. Micro CHPs are more efficient than current domestic boilers, and also generate electricity, which, when not being used by a household, could be sold back to the national grid.
The Disenco mCHP generates 15 kW of heat and 3 kW of electricity. It is also more than 90% efficient converting 70-80% of the available energy in natural gas for central heating and 10-25% into electricity. This can reduce an average home’s carbon emissions by between two and six tonnes per year, while saving up to 30% on fuel use.
The mCHP generates electricity by using what would normally be waste heat to drive a sterling engine. Sterling engines are not new technology, indeed this external combustion engine principle was invented in the 19th century to drive large machinery. However, the advent of the internal combustion engine, as found in cars, soon led to its demise.
Prodrive is using its experience of working with ceramics, precious metals and composites to develop a compact sterling engine for mCHP. David Hemmings, Prodrive chief engineer, said: “The first sterling engines were the size of a house and used to drive machinery in factories in Victorian times. Developing a compact unit which is efficient and cost-effective while operating at temperatures exceeding 600oC has meant using new materials, many of which are only found in the motorsport and aerospace industries.”
It is currently estimated that such mCHPs in homes and businesses could ultimately generate up to 20 GW of the UK’s energy demands, which is equivalent to the UK’s existing nuclear capacity. They are also far more efficient than centrally producing energy through power stations and more flexible too, as energy is generated at the point of demand in the home, rather than through power stations, where the overall efficiency can be just 45%, compared to the 90% for a mCHP.
Simon Ambler, chief executive of Disenco, said: “You wouldn’t normally imagine that one of the world’s leading motorsport businesses could help develop technology to replace your boiler at home. However, British motorsport is at the cutting edge of so many new technologies that it is in fact the perfect environment to rapidly commercialise this exciting technology.”
(www.prodrive.com)
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