For small businesses, the trial has demonstrated that Micro-CHP systems can cut overall site CO2 emissions by 15 to 20 per cent when installed as the lead boiler in appropriate applications, such as care homes, community housing schemes and leisure centres. For domestic users, the results show that the current generation of Micro-CHP systems is best suited to larger homes with three or more bedrooms, or older houses where it is not currently cost effective to improve insulation, such as housing with solid brick walls. According to the organization’s press release, in such homes, Micro-CHP can potentially deliver carbon savings of between five and ten per cent – with typical reductions between 200kg and 800kg of CO2 each year.

Mark Williamson, Director of Innovations at the Carbon Trust, said: “Our analysis of more than 30,000 days worth of data shows that Micro-CHP systems can deliver significant CO2 savings for small businesses and certain types of houses. However, if the market for this exciting technology is to develop, it needs a policy framework which provides appropriate incentives to target applications which offer worthwhile carbon savings.”