CHP is Combined heat and power.
46% of all our Homes Carbon emmisions are emmited by heating.
The recent prory report of CHP shows ,their is enough wasted heat produced by Industry,Centralised Coal power stations,Centralised gas power stations,Biomass,Incinerators and Nuclear plants escaping up chimney stacks and cooled by rivers and sea to Heat every home in the UK.
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/climate/solutions/combined-heat-and-power-chp
This potential could be tapped and encouraged ,further reducing our Carbon emmisions. Much is hoped and expected from the Renewable energy strategy.
Trials of microCHP systems are progressing with a variety of devices, capable of heating a home,its hot water needs and a considerable amount of electricity for the household (1-3KW).
Ground,Water and Air source pumps can heat a home very efficeintly.
Biomass has great opportunities in the UK with the potential to power some 10% of our entire electrical needs,with various examples now approved or operation.Recycled wood-(Lockerbie power),Waste straw (Sleaford Biomass),waste animal products(Eye biomass),wood chip (Port talbot) ,Wood pellet (schools and homes) etc.We expect many more schemes to be presented for approval soon.
Waste food and Manure (Animal and Human) decays in time as bacteria comsume it.This results in considerable greenhouse gases,especially Methane (230 times more powerfull greenhouse gas) that could be harvested for our energy uses.
As the North sea runs out of Natural gas (already reducing and the UK is expected to be an importer of gas at 80% of our needs by 2015 ,competing with many other nations on the market for Finite LNG.Russian Natural gas reserves are also expected to reduce also around 2016 ,resulting in reduced export to preserve enough for their countries citizens) .This will only add to the price and tensions around the world for the remaing 'Scraps' with the unstable Middle east nations and North africa again holding the lions share.
The National grid has plans to emulate the German experience of capturing this Methane in vessels called Anerobic digesters (AD) and injecting into the National gas grid to be burnt in our home boilers and ovens (without smells) (see news story).This would be far,far more efficeint with some boilers reporting 92% efficeincy and combined with microCHP boilers their would be even higher benefits.
We currently burn much of our Biomass methane (Mostly Landfill sourced) at source (around 40% efficeint) as their is no financial incentive for Biogas at present (Fingers crossed this may change with the expected Renewable heat strategy due soon).
