Techno-economic and policy requirements for the market-entry of the fuel cell micro-CHP system in the residential sector

For large-family residential users consuming 9000 kWh of electricity yearly, the retail price that yields a five year pay-back-time - without any incentive - is ∼2500 €. Under the same assumptions, for the average family with a consumption of around 3500 kWh, the required price is ∼650 €. In both cases, a retail price that is four and seven time higher respectively is achieved with the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) scheme of the type currently in use in the United Kingdom. A modified Feed-in Tariff is finally proposed to support on-site consumption rather than generation with export to the grid.