§ Mr. LlwydTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Government's policies are for encouraging the use of micro-CHP; and if she will make a statement on their impact. [25622]
§ Mr. MeacherMicro-CHP is a technology which offers great potential for energy efficiency improvements, and reduced energy costs for both homes and small businesses. This Department and the Department of Trade and Industry are carrying out work to investigate the benefits of, and possible barriers to, introducing micro-CHP, through the Government/Industry Distributed Generation Co-ordinating Group.
As part of its fuel poverty strategy, the Government intend to invite micro-CHP manufacturers to take part in a £lO million large-scale pilot to test the suitability of the technology for fuel poor households. If successful, the intention is to include micro-CHP in the main fuel poverty programmes for those homes that are hard to heat with conventional heating systems.
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Standard heating pattern of two hours in the morning and seven hours in the evening during weekdays, and 16 hours/day at weekends.The actual costs incurred by householders can vary greatly according to the construction of the property, the age and type of heating systems and occupation patterns. A discussion of these varying costs for fuel poor households is provided at Annexe D of the consultation paper, "Fuel Poverty: The New HEES" published in May 1999.