The Stirling Engine as Your Private Power Plant

Imagine a future where each house has its own independent energy source for electricity, heat, and hot water. This future may be closer than you think -- the Stirling engine has been modernized and is now capable of operating as your private power plant.

Stirling engines were invented back in the 19th century as an alternative to steam engines. Steam engine boilers had a tendency to explode, killing or maiming people in the process. This is because the steam had to be under high pressure to drive the engines, and poorly built boilers could not withstand this high pressure.

Robert Stirling devised a way to convert heat into mechanical energy without using the high pressure of steam. His engine uses an external heat source that relies on the pressure differential between hot gas and cool gas to move pistons.

With the development of the internal combustion engine, the Stirling engine fell out of favour because of its comparative inefficiency. Up until recently, it has remained in the domain of hobbyists and inventors.

Recent refinements of the Stirling engine, however, have brought it back into the limelight as a means of providing alternative energy to individual households. Several companies have developed Stirling engines that can take the place of hot water heaters and produce electricity at the same time.

These Stirling engines are designed to be used in conjunction with electricity obtained from power utility companies. They are connected to the grid and when they produce more electricity than the household can consume, the excess is fed back into the grid for a credit.

The heat source to drive these Stirling engines comes from natural gas or propane. By providing electricity, heat, and hot water, these power plants have a 90% efficiency rate -- higher than almost any other power source.

Although these power plants are designed to provide only part of the electricity needed by the average household, one would expect that further developments and refinements would allow these machines to supply all the electricity, heat, and hot water without the need of any other power source. This would provide tremendous ecological and economic benefits by reducing greenhouse emissions and utility bills.

 

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