World’s first home fuel cell for condominiums developed

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Tokyo Gas Co and Panasonic Corp on Monday announced the joint development of the world’s first “Ene-Farm” home fuel cell for condominiums.

The new fuel cell for condominiums will be sold by Tokyo Gas from April 1, 2014. The product is the first commercialized fuel cell in the world where the fuel cell unit, hot water unit and backup heat source unit can all be stored in the pipe shaft of the condominium.

In comparison to detached houses, condominiums have more restrictions on the conditions for installations. By increasing the airtightness of the unit itself, it has become possible to install the new fuel cell in the pipe shaft in the open hallway of a condominium.

In addition, in order to meet the installation standards of condominiums, the legs that anchor the unit have been strengthened, making the fuel cell more earthquake resistant, and measures, such as a modified exhaust structure, have improved the wind resistance of the fuel cell, making installation in the upper floors of a condominium and operation in strong winds possible.

Compared to using electricity from thermal power plants and heating water using city gas, the new “Ene-Farm” fuel cell for condominiums reduces primary energy consumption by approximately 37% and CO2 emissions by approximately 49% when operating at the rated electricity generation. In a model case, users can cut around 30,000 to 40,000 yen from their annual utility bills, and reduce annual CO2 emissions by approximately 1 ton.