25 April 2012

Honda unveils demo test house featuring CIGS PV panels

Tokyo-based Honda Motor Co Ltd has unveiled a house built in the city of Saitama, Japan, for the demonstration testing of the Honda Smart Home System (HSHS), which comprehensively controls in-house energy supply and demand, and helps to manage both the generation and consumption of energy for the home such as heat and electricity, while utilizing mobility products. HSHS is also designed to enable users to secure their own supply of energy and mobility in a time of disaster.

The HSHS in the test house consists of copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film solar cell panels, a home battery unit (rechargeable battery), household gas-engine co-generation unit and hot-water supply system, and the Smart e Mix Manager. As the core of the HSHS, the Smart e Mix Manager is a comprehensive energy management device that applies optimal control to electricity supplied from the commercial grid and generated by each energy device that composes the system. The Smart e Mix Manager reduces CO2 emissions from the home and, at the same time, provides a backup supply of electricity so that the house can be self-sufficient in the event of a power outage or disaster.

Honda will conduct demonstration testing of the HSHS that is linked with electromotive mobility products such as electric vehicles, and the Internavi system. Through this demonstration testing, Honda will aim to reduce CO2 by 50% (in comparison to 2000) and verify the future direction of personal mobility. Honda will also verify the backup function for household energy supply, which will provide a sense of security and comfort to the customers.

As a part of its effort to further reduce CO2 emissions in everyday lives (including mobility), on 23 May 2011 Honda signed an agreement to participate in the E-KIZUNA Project, which is run by the city of Saitama. To conduct demonstration testing with the HSHS-equipped house as a part of the E-KIZUNA Project, Honda built two houses (each for single-family use) in the vicinity of Saitama University (in the city of Saitama). A third house is scheduled to be built in the same location, where all three houses will be linked for smart community demonstration testing. The tests are scheduled to continue until 2018.

Honda aims to verify the power generation efficiency of an all-new CIGS thin-film solar cell module that it is currently developing. Based on the verification results from these demonstration test houses, the firm says it will take advantage of its strength in producing energy-creating products such as solar panels and co-generation units and pursue total energy management within a household or community.

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