Business Models for Micro CHP in Residential Buildings

The tremendously high CO2 emissions resulting from decades of unsustainable generation of electricity and heat from fossil fuels are widely recognised as the main cause of climate change, today’s biggest threat to the environment. There is an urgent need for the deployment of more sustainable energy technologies. A promising option for a more sustainable energy supply of residential buildings are micro CHP systems, ie systems for the combined production of heat and power that operate at a very small scale and are located close the point of consumption. However, micro CHP is still far from penetrating the market, and a good deal of work is needed to find a way out of this situation. This book contributes to business-related research on residential micro CHP by investigating the following questions: a) What is the market environment for residential micro CHP in Europe’s largest markets, and what are the implications for business models in these markets? b) What does actual business practice look like in these markets? c) What are possible future developments in the market for residential micro CHP, and how do they affect business models?