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fuel cell

RJ_4
RJ_4 Member Posts: 484
A friend called me from another state  about a major hvac upgrade they are looking at doing to there church.  One person at the church wanted to look into replacing the boiler and emergency generator with a fuel cell ?  any input on this would be great. don't know any equip details at this time.

thanks      Rick
RJ

Comments

  • icesailor
    icesailor Member Posts: 7,265
    Numbers:

    When they crunch the numbers, they'll be putting in a new boiler.
  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 23,168
    One of the minor beauties

    about fuel cells is that they don't produce much heat.  So the question might be asked, how are they proposing to supply heat to their HVAC?  Or is this in some southern clime?



    There is a downside... a, those puppies don't come cheap and b, they do need fuel... and unless they are hydrogen cells, they don't do anything different environmentally than a good clean burning gas boiler or oil boiler (depending on the fuel).



    If they want to go off grid, they'd be much better off (unless their heat loads are very small) to go with a natural gas (if available) or diesel co-gen system.



    If their budget is anything like most churches, they'll be putting in a boiler, as Icesailor says!



    But there's one in every crowd, I guess.
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
  • RJ_4
    RJ_4 Member Posts: 484
    fuel cell

    Thanks all .    Rick
    RJ