The first fuel cells for home use could be available as early as 2001, according to one developer of this alternative energy source. EnergyUSA , a subsidiary of NiSource Inc. , has announced that it will have a prototype of its residential fuel cell stack in production by the first quarter of 2001, with plans to deliver the product to consumers later in the year.
Fuel cells use a chemical process that directly converts a fuel's energy into electrical energy.
By supplying hydrogen to a negative electrode and oxygen to a positive electrode, the fuel cells generate a voltage between the two electrodes. Although the chemical process of a fuel cell is similar to the way a battery produces energy, a battery has to be recharged or replaced but a fuel cell can keep running as long as it is supplied with hydrogen and oxygen. If the hydrogen is extracted from natural gas, there is a relatively small amount of carbon dioxide as a by-product, but fuel cells still emit much less pollution than traditional energy sources. To answer this question, you must carefully determine the energy consumption of every large electrical device in your home. While the stack can be used as a primary energy source, it may not produce enough power if you run multiple large appliances at the same time.