Honda develops household gas engine cogeneration unit for use during power outage

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Honda Motor Co will begin sales of a new model for its household MCHP (Micro Combined Heat and Power) gas engine cogeneration unit in November, through gas utilities across Japan.

Building on its predecessors that have served as the core unit in the ECOWILL household cogeneration system, which runs by burning natural gas or LPG (liquefied propane gas) for electricity generation and using the exhaust heat for hot water supply and heating, the new model has an autonomous operation function that enables system use in a power outage or other emergencies.

In the aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, a market need has arisen for a cogeneration system that can be used even during a power outage. The new household gas engine cogeneration unit MCHP1.0R with an autonomous operation function was accordingly developed based on a power generation unit that underwent a full model change in 2011. The new model is the power generation unit of ECOWILL PLUS, a new gas engine cogeneration system for electricity generation, hot water supply, and heating, which will be put on sale through gas utilities.

Power can be generated independent of the utility grid by simply pulling the unit’s starter grip to start the engine. Maximum power output during autonomous operation is approximately 980 W, which is supplied through a dedicated outlet to provide night lighting and to enable operation of a television and a personal computer for gathering information. Hot water for a bath and a floor heating system can also be available during an outage.

In 2003, Honda began sales of its first compact household cogeneration unit, which combined a gas engine with Honda’s original sine-wave inverter power generation technology. The unit underwent a full model change in 2011 as MCHP1.0K2, featuring Honda’s EXlink (Extended Expansion Linkage Engine), whose expansion stroke is longer than its intake stroke, resulting in a high expansion ratio for greatly increased thermal and fuel efficiency. With EXlink and Honda’s original power generation technologies, MCHP1.0K2 achieves power generation efficiency of 26.3%.