VC-20-A007 -- Analysis of a Fuel Cell Hot Water Heater for Combined Heat and Power

Flame-assisted Fuel Cells (FFC) have been shown to be uniquely suited for Combined Heat and Power (CHP) applications. In this work, a case study for evaluating the effects of integrating a Flame-assisted Fuel Cell (FFC) stack with a residential water heater is presented. The integrated setup can generate electricity at 21% efficiency at an equivalence ratio of 2.8 with high combined efficiency. The natural gas flow rate and efficiency are analyzed for the case of a fixed thermal output.