A1 Housing looks to Baxi Ecogen to cut fuel poverty and carbon emissions

Published by Anna Forster for Baxi Group in Housing and also in Environment, Local Government

A1 Housing, the Nottinghamshire-based ALMO (Arms Length Management Organisation), is trialling the Baxi Ecogen micro-combined heat and power (micro-CHP) appliance in a bid to reduce fuel poverty and lower carbon emissions.
 
A1 Housing manages 7,000 properties for Bassetlaw District Council across North Nottinghamshire. In line with its objectives to upgrade all its housing stock to Decent Homes standards by 2013 and to reduce carbon emissions by 20% by 2020, A1 Housing is trialling the innovative Baxi Ecogen micro-CHP in a 4-bedroom family home in the village of Misterton, South East of Doncaster.

Constructed in the 1950s, the semi-detached property is home to a large family with four children. Both Baxi and A1 Housing will be monitoring the results of the trial closely, with the unit expected to generate hundreds of kilowatts of electricity to power services in the home and enabling any surplus to be exported back to the grid.

Robert Ebbs, Technical Surveyor at A1 Housing said: "We are delighted to take part in this project with the Baxi Ecogen micro-CHP unit. At A1 Housing we are actively looking for ways to reduce fuel poverty and cut the carbon emissions from Bassettlaw District Council’s housing stock. We have been keeping a close eye on the unit’s performance for the past nine months and are very encouraged by the impact it’s already making”.

The revolutionary Baxi Ecogen is the first commercially available micro-CHP unit for the home. The appliance is designed around a Free Piston Stirling Engine (FPSE) which provides central heating and domestic hot water and up to 1kWh of electricity. The intelligent controls within the Baxi Ecogen constantly adjust the engine to ensure maximum electrical generation and user comfort whilst simultaneously minimising fuel costs.

Extensive field trials have shown that Baxi Ecogen units can reliably satisfy up to two thirds of a typical household’s electrical requirements. Around one third of this energy can be used in the home and another third exported back to the grid at a price of 10pkWh, using the new Government Feed-In Tariffs (FIT) scheme, effective from April 2010. This makes it ideal for specification as a fuel and carbon-cutting heating solution in both new-build and replacement projects.

As one of Europe’s largest and most innovative manufacturers and distributors of domestic and commercial water and space heating system solutions, Baxi Group is committed to developing and supplying innovative new heating Low and Zero Carbon (LZC) technologies. These innovations will play an important role in tackling climate change, reducing the use of fossil fuels and addressing issues of fuel poverty.

The company’s portfolio includes some of the best known and respected brands including Baxi, Potterton, Main, Heatrae Sadia, Valor, Andrews Water Heaters, Santon, Elson, Baxi Senertec and Potterton, enabling Baxi Group to supply whole system solutions to meet specifiers’ needs.

For more information, please visit www.baxigroupspecification.co.uk.