Honda is trialling a system to use a hydrogen fuel cell to power a family home one day a week for two years to gain real world data on performance, power, total energy consumed and required, as well as costs.
This will measure the feasibility of households using fuel cells from electric vehicles to generate electricity their homes.
Honda’s test will assess how much power could be garnered through such a system and what it will cost. The test will run once a week between 10AM and 4PM in a family home.
The energy output of the fuel cell of the vehicle being used is 9kWh, which should power a family home for about six days.
The concept of powering homes from a vehicle fuel cell has already been used. Fuel cells from cars were used to successfully power homes after the 2011 Japanese earthquake left many homes without power for extended periods of time.