July 17, 2007 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd., today announced that cumulative sales of its compact household cogeneration (heat/electricity) unit, first introduced in 2003, has reached 50,000 units. Honda's compact household cogeneration unit is a core part of a high-efficiency heat/electricity supply system for home use that generates electricity with a gas engine and utilizes the exhaust heat to supply hot water.
A system comprised of Honda's compact household cogeneration unit and hot-water heater unit which uses exhaust heat has been sold through utility gas companies under the brand name of ECOWILL. Honda's compact household cogeneration unit achieves a high total energy efficiency of 85.5%, and the effect of CO2 emission reduction achieved by 50,000 units of ECOWILL is equivalent to saving approximately 42,000 tons, or 3 million trees per year. (*1)
As people become increasingly conscious of environmental issues, the demand for compact household cogeneration systems is steadily increasing. A federation of three major trade organizations in the gas energy industry in Japan, the Japan Gas Association, the Conference of LP Gas Associated Organizations, and the Japan Community Gas Association, which collaborate for the shared goal of promoting use of gas energy, has announced a goal to sell a total of 235,000 units of ECOWILL by March 31, 2011. (*2)
In the U.S., American Honda Motor Co., Inc. and Climate Energy, LLC began retail sales in March of this year, of a system under the brand name of freewattTM, comprised of Honda's compact household cogeneration unit and a hot-water heater unit that uses exhaust heat.
Honda will further accelerate efforts to address global warming by promoting its energy creation products, such as cogeneration units and solar cells, in addition to the effort to meet the 2010 CO2 reduction targets the company announced in 2006 for its products and production operations.
| (*1) Estimated by Honda |
| (*2) Source: A news release distributed by the federation on December 1, 2005. |
Compact Household Cogeneration Unit -- Honda MCHP1.0
< Key specifications for Japanese model >
| Fuel: | City gas (Natural gas : 13A, 12A), LP (Liquefied Petroleum) gas |
| Engine: | 4-stroke, water-cooled, single-cylinder OHV |
| Displacement: | 163cm3 |
| Generator: | Multi-polar sine wave inverter |
| Electrical output: | 1.0kW (100/200V AC) |
| Thermal output: | 2.8kW |
| Weight: | 82kg (including coolant water during the operation: 83kg) |
| Size (W × D × H): | 580mm × 380mm × 880mm (excluding protrusion) |
Conceptual diagram of the system
Key features of Honda's compact household cogeneration unit
- High Power-generation Efficiency and Energy-saving System
Honda's compact household cogeneration unit achieves total energy efficiency of 85.5% at the setting of thermal output of 2.8kW per hour and electrical output of 1kW per hour -appropriate for an average household. The power generation efficiency is 22.5%
- Compact and Lightweight
Designed for home-use, in addition to its small footprint, Honda's compact household cogeneration unit pursued a simple design that incorporates aesthetic concerns by placing all gas lines and electrical wiring on the bottom and making cosmetic piping available .