Power to the People

摘要

Some people make their own bread; some make their own clothes. But the Harrison family from Chester in north-west England has taken self-sufficiency to new heights. They're making their own electricity. The Harrisons are one of a handful of families in Britain and the Netherlands testing miniature power stations this winter. A boiler-sized unit in the garage burns natural gas to supply the family with hot water and central heating, just as their old boiler did. But the new unit also generates electricity, which keeps the bills down. Good news for the Harrisons. And good news for the environment too-if enough people can be persuaded to install them. The unit in the Harrison's garage is what's known as a combined heat and power (CHP) plant. CHP has been commonplace in factories, schools and other large buildings for decades. According to Britain's Combined Heat and Power Association, CHP cuts fuel consumption by up to 35 per cent. That's because the waste heat from generating electricity-which power stations normally fritter away in cooling towers-is used to heat buildings and water instead. And you don't lose energy transmitting the electricity hundreds of kilometres along overhead cables.