July 17, 2012 – The market for residential combined heat & power (resCHP) systems—defined as small, distributed energy generation systems that produce electricity for residences while also capturing heat that would otherwise be treated as waste—is still very small, but growing rapidly, says Pike Research. Only 61,000 systems shipped globally in 2011, but that number is expected to increase by 50% in 2012.

According to a recent report from Pike, the total number of installed resCHP systems in both single-family and multi-family homes, will reach 13.5 million by 2022. Annual installations of resCHP systems will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 49% for individual homes, and 44% for multi-family homes between 2012 and 2022.

“Besides being more efficient than the traditional power grid and easier to build than conventional power stations, resCHP systems have the additional benefit of producing thermal energy that can be used as heat, converted to electricity, or converted to cooling when coupled with an adsorption chiller,” said research director Kerry-Ann Adamson.

The drivers for strong growth in this sector over the next decade include volatile energy markets, in which residential power costs can fluctuate dramatically from season to season, as well as increasing levels of fuel scarcity in a number of countries. In addition, aging transmission systems in many countries are contributing to the rise of blackouts and brownouts, such as this summer’s widespread power outages along the Eastern seaboard of the United States. The distributed nature of resCHP systems makes them less vulnerable to outages on the centralized power grid.