Is there a device on the market powered by hydrogen......?

Question

that can heat and create electric for your home from hydrogen and solar power. If so where can I get some info on this.
Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Yep. You want "hydrogen fuel cells". They take hydrogen and oxygen and combine them into water, releasing electrical current in the process.
They're very expensive, though.

Here's a website that seems to be selling them. Be careful, though, i can't guarentee that they're the real thing.
http://www.fuelcellstore.com/products.html

Here's some fuel cell related websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_cell
http://science.howstuffworks.com/fuel-cell.htm

You could also burn hydrogen to power what's called a "stirling engine" This would probably be even more expensive, and less efficient, than the fuel cell though.

Answer 2

Everything along those lines are prototypes. It's kind of a dumb idea since Hydrogen is mainly used as a means of TRANSPORTING energy (in that if you have a lot of electricity, instead of storing it in big heavy batteries, to use it to separate hydrogen out of water and then burn that hydrogen later).

But since you plan to generate electricity AT the location you want to heat and power (your home), it's actually better to just connect the solar panels to the power grid.

This is for three reasons:

One, reburning hydrogen, even in a very good fuel cell, will release waste heat that you either don't want in the summertime, or can't capture efficiently enough, (in other words, for home use if you wanted to store energy, a battery would be better).

Second, selling energy back to the power company during the daytime (when electricity costs more because businesses use it), and then buying it back at night (when homeowners use it most often) means you actually make a profit on your electricity bill most of the time.

Third, hydrogen fuel cells (to burn hydrogen with and generate electricity), batteries, and all that other stuff all costs extra money, which you don't even need to spend if you just connected your solar cells directly into the power company's grid.

Answer 3

There's a firm in Christchurch NZ with a name something like Whisperpower, which makes Stirling engines for domestic use. The device is about as big as a fridge, makes about as much noise as a fridge, and you keep it indoors.It generates electricity by burning liquid fuel or gas. Some versions I think, heat your water or have a cooking range, and the waste heat warms the house.