Imagine being able to produce your own electricity and to heat your home and business using renewable fuels,
lowering yur carbon footprint and achieving energy independence and self sufficiency from the utilities.
That's exactly what I set out to do two years ago, using a self-built, combined heat and power system made
mostly from salvaged and recycled components.
Using a combination of waste vegetable oil and producer gas made from woodchips, I run a 1950's generating
set entirely on renewable biofuels.
This is not located out in the wilds of Wales or Cornwall, it is done in a home built shed in my back garden in
the middle of suburbia.
energy independence from the utilities and at the
same time making use of renewable fuels in an
attempt to lower my household carbon footprint.
Over the course of the last 2 years I have built a
vegetable oil powered home heat and power
system which can offset a considerable percentage
of my electricity and natural gas requirements.
Now in January 2008, I am now able to get
copious amounts of hot water, electricity and
heating from nothing more than filtered waste
vegetable oil, obtained from a local pub.
wood gasifier expert, Johan Linell come to stay with
me for a weekend, from the wilds of rural Sweden.
Johan came over to the UK for a week to help convert
a Toyota Hi-Lux pick-up truck run on wood gas.
Whilst staying with me, Johan, a keen amateur
filmmaker, took some video footage about my veg oil
Lister CHP system.
Johan has now edited the footage and made a short
movie, now released on YouTube: - Here it is:
electronics design engineer
living in suburban Surrey.
I have a background in broadcast
engineering, telecommunications,
low cost electronics, mass
production, electric vehicles and
alternative technology.
Here I am pictured in April 2005,
with my first 6hp Lister CS
engine and generator which I
demonstrated running on
vegetable oil at the Kew Bridge
Steam Museum.
The Lister CS 6/1 and generator
are mounted on a small trailer for
easy transit.
This engine is now in Leeds,
adopted by a Lister friend of mine.
would have been familiar to my grandfather's
generation.
Taking my inspiration from this old photograph of a
Lister dc generating plant from the 1930's, I attempted
to recreate something similar that would meet the needs
of my 21st century home, but running renewable biofuel,
not fossil fuel.
In an attempt to shift my domestic energy consumption
from fossil fuels to renewable sources such as wood and
waste vegetable oil, the Lister CHP system gives me
access to sustainable heat and power.
Installed in my garden shed, it provides up to 3kW of
renewable electricity and plenty of waste heat for
heating water, my house and my garden office and
workshop.
diesel engine generator which forms the
heart of my DIY domestic combined
heat and power system. It is powered by
renewable waste vegetable oil.
The diesel engine is adapted to run on
filtered waste vegetable oil and drives a
3kW alternator, producing sufficient
electricity for my household and
business activities.
To make greater efficiency of the energy
value of the fuel, the waste heat from the
engine exhaust and coolant system is
captured and used to supplement my
domestic central heating.
house via an insulated "heat main" which runs in a trench from the shed to the house.
The engine CHP system, the woodburning boiler and the solar water heater and storage tank are all housed in
the shed. If they are not used at any time, the house can run normally from an efficient condensing gas boiler.
Keeping the systems together in the shed means that all the major components are located in one place, and the
connection to the house is kept simple.
The shed has been insulated to a high standard, so that it will be comfortable to work in, both in winter and
summer.
It seems to run best with about a 2.5kW electrical load, and under these conditions it will produce about 5kW
of heat in the form of hot water at 60 degrees C, which is more than enough to heat my house, and provide hot
water via an indirect hot water cylinder.
Engine type Lister CS 6/1 built in 1951
Type Single cylinder, slow speed diesel engine with indirect injection
Weight 330kg
Power Output 4.47kW (6 hp)
RPM 638rpm for 50Hz 230V power production
Fuel Filtered waste vegetable oil
Fuel Consumption 3 litres every 2 hours when running with a 2.5kW electrical load
Alternator Chinese manufactured ST 3kW
Belt Drive HTD Belt 8mm pitch 20mm wide
Heat Output 6kW maximum 60 degrees C, about 330 litres per hour
Ken Boak can be contacted by email by anyone wishing further information on this project.
Since starting on this Lister project, several other Lister engine enthusiasts and their CS engines
have come to my notice. These links describe a few of them. We have recently started a Lister CS
Owners Group, contactable via Yahoo Groups