Generating free electricity while you heat your home sounds like a good deal. Not only could it save you money, but it also might reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Micro combined heat and power (CHP) systems have been doing this for several years, but none have made it to market in the UK - so far.rnAfter a few false starts, owing to the financial viability of the technology compared with standard boilers, the first crop of micro CHP units will be available on these shores for home use next year. Boiler maker Baxi has signed a deal with British Gas to distribute a micro CHP boiler, the Ecogen, which should be available from June 2009. Hot on their heels, CHP specialist WhisperGen has set up a joint venture with Spanish firm Mondragon Corporation and Meridian Energy with production due to start this January.rnThere are two main varieties of domestic micro CHP: Stirling engines and fuel cells. At present, there are no fuel cell systems on the market, although Ceres Power is planning to launch one with British Gas in 2011. Both the WhisperGen and Baxi systems are Stirling engines, although the engines are of slightly different designs and produce somewhat different heat outputs.
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