ᐅ Gas-powered fuel cell

hegi___ schrieb:

Heat pumps are also subsidized up to 35% of the costs

But that was not the question

@hegi___

If I understand correctly, the electricity is not used for heat generation. Heat is also produced during the generation process itself, and additionally through the combustion of the residual materials after reforming.

I also don’t really see electricity becoming cheaper; I rather expect gas and electricity prices to remain steady or increase.

hegi___ schrieb:

Gas is fossil-based and will become more expensive (CO2 tax). Electricity will likely become cheaper.

My crystal ball says that the Russians will push so much cheap gas through Nord Stream II that this ~1.5 cents per kWh CO2 tax in 2026 will be offset by the falling gas price. And electricity will continue to get more expensive, since there are neither sufficient base load replacement capacities for nuclear nor coal available or planned.

But we can certainly swap crystal balls if you like.

He is referring to a gas boiler with a fuel cell.
Hydrogen is extracted from the gas, producing some heat and electricity. If more heat is needed, the gas boiler kicks in.
The models available in Germany are licensed products from Japan and have been well tested.
They are very expensive (20,000-30,000€) but also heavily subsidized. The paperwork for electricity production (750W - 1kW) is similar to that for photovoltaics.
We also looked into it. Unfortunately, we require a high peak output (pool), and there was nothing suitable in that size.
For normally sized houses, it is worth considering.

The fuel cell from a well-known manufacturer that I am currently having installed in a building project consists of a conventional gas boiler and a fuel cell that electrolytically converts natural gas with supplied air oxygen into water through a “cold combustion” process, generating electricity and producing waste heat as a byproduct, which is fed into the heating system. For higher heating demand in winter, the conventional gas boiler is switched on as needed. So, it is a hybrid system.

The costs are high – the system for the planned building project (350 m² (3,767 ft²) of heated living space) delivers 750 W electric output and modulating heating capacity from 2 to 32 kW and costs approximately €35,000 gross, including ready-for-operation installation and maintenance contracts, but excluding an electricity storage system. It is subsidized by the KfW with around €14,000.

The 32 kW (34 HP) Max was the problem for us. We are now getting a 43 kW (46 HP) gas boiler. Otherwise, we would have combined it with a fuel cell as well.