E.ON, one of the UK's leading energy companies, has announced an exclusive deal to bring the next generation of the low carbon WhisperGen micro-combined heat and power unit to Britain's homes.

WhisperGen can be best described as a mini-power station. It is roughly the same size as a dishwasher and replaces a standard gas boiler in a conventional central heating system, generating heat and electricity at the same time - earning money whilst lowering carbon emissions.

E.ON and Efficient Home Energy (EHE) part of leading Spanish manufacturer Mondragon are working together to deliver the first European mass-produced version of the Stirling engine WhisperGen micro-CHP unit which generates 1kW electricity whilst providing 12kW of heat for home heating and hot water.

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Don Leiper, Managing Director of E.ON's Energy Services business, said: "WhisperGen is like having a mini power station in your garage, generating electricity at the same as it provides heat and hot water for your home.

"It's a unique technology for the 21st Century and will help reduce customer bills and carbon. With EHE we'll be ramping up production in the next few years, mass-producing this technology for the wider market and making it available to local authorities, housing developers and residential customers.

"This exclusive contract opens the door to the first of many microgeneration projects that we'll be bringing to customers, allowing people to quite literally take their energy needs into their own hands."

Compared to a standard heating system WhisperGen could reduce a home's carbon dioxide emissions by between one and two tonnes per year.

Through the Government's Feed-in-Tariffs, householders will be rewarded for making this simple switch to low carbon living and generating their own renewable energy; a typical family home could save in excess of £400 a year compared with a conventional condensing boiler.

(CD/GK)