Simsbury Center, an apartment building in Hartford, Connecticut, has installed a revolutionary new heating system. Essentially, it generates free electricity thanks to the energy-saving technology of a local company, the Enviro Power. The SmartWatt condensing boiler converts heat that would otherwise be lost into useful electricity.
The condominium is a recent adaptation of a hotel, the Iron Horse Inn. The former hospitality complex has been converted into 21 luxury apartments with the aim of minimizing environmental impact. The result is flattering, if you think that the ability of the SmartWatt condensing boiler to generate clean energy has an efficiency of 98% (HHV). Using existing heating infrastructure, the condensing boiler is designed as a solution that practically pays for itself by lowering the energy costs of a building.
It's not all. Part of this energy will be injected into charging stations for electric vehicles, installed as an exclusive property of the condominiums in the 50-car parking lot. Not bad for the energy saving, I'd say.
Decarbonising buildings can and must be done
Replacing existing heating systems with advanced electricity generation solutions is a good step towards decarbonisation. “This SmartWatt condensing boiler is installed and maintained at similar costs to a normal heating system,” he says Dan Nadav CEO Enviro Power. “And it replaces existing boilers without further investments.”
Solutions like these are a huge step forward in building energy efficiency. It is surprising to think that this is one of the few energy technologies already commercialized and ready for mass production and distribution. It makes you wonder where the others are.
SmartWatt, in the space of a condensing boiler there is a small power plant
The secret of this device is quite simple: by creating a platform of distributed energy resources, it integrates a simple low-pressure steam turbine into the structure of a condensing boiler.
One possible explanation for why these technologies have not yet been widely adopted is that they are still in development. Many of these energy saving technologies are new and, therefore, may not be as well known or understood as the more traditional forms of power generation.
The fact remains that they are now becoming affordable for the average consumer, and such a condensing boiler MUST be considered by owners and builders.
