Home Builder to Offer World's First House with Three Power Supply Systems

Sekisui House Ltd., a major Japanese home builder, announced on August 8, 2011, that it will offer the eco-friendly Green First Hybrid house equipped with three power supply systems; photovoltaic cells, fuel cells, and secondary batteries.

In 2009, the firm launched the eco-friendly Green First house equipped with a household fuel cell (700 watts or 750 watts) and photovoltaic cells (3 kilowatts or higher). Integration of secondary batteries (8.96 kilowatt-hours) into the combined system has yielded great power savings and contributions to solving power shortages.

In the daytime, homeowners primarily use electricity produced by the fuel cells and sell excess electricity generated by the solar panels to the utility company. When the power consumption peaks in the evening and at night, the power is supplied by the secondary batteries, resulting in less electricity being purchased from the utility company. The batteries are recharged at overnight using cheaper off-peak power. Sekisui House estimates that utility costs for the homeowners are almost zero and that the three power supply systems can cover an ordinary household's need.

In the case of blackout, if gas and water are being supplied, the hybrid house automatically switches to a supply mode using only the three systems, allowing homeowners to use pre-designated outlets and lighting. With the secondary battery system alone, a refrigerator (200 watts), LCD television (150 watts) and lighting (100 watts) can operate for about 17 hours.

Home Builder Offers EV & PHV Charger Outlets as Standard Feature for Single-Family House (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/030872.html
Sekisui House Releases Zero CO2 Emission House Exclusively in Kanagawa Prefecture (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/030352.html

Posted: 2011/11/13 06:00:15 AM