A heater is described. The heater includes a fuel cell to produce heated air, electricity and water vapor. The heater further includes a heating element operatively coupled to the fuel cell to convert the electricity to heat and a control system operatively coupled to the fuel cell and the heating element, the control system being configured to monitor and control the fuel cell and heating element.

The present invention relates to a fuel cell system comprising: a fuel cell configured to generate electricity and heat by a reaction between hydrogen and oxygen; a heat storage tank provided therein with a storage heat exchange unit configured to perform heat exchange between the heat recovered from the fuel cell and a fluid contained in the heat storage tank; a heat media supply line and a heat media recovery line configured to interconnect the fuel cell and the storage heat exchange unit to form a circulation flow channel of heat media; a bypass line branched from the heat media supply line and connected to the heat media recovery line; a flow channel switching device configured to selectively switch the flow channel of the heat media flowing along the heat media supply line to the storage heat exchange unit or the bypass line; and a controller configured to control the flow channel switching device such that the flow channel of the heat media flowing along the heat media supply line is connected to the storage heat exchange unit when the fuel cell generates power, and the flow channel of the heat media flowing along the heat media supply line is connected to the bypass line when the fuel cell stops power generation.

There is provided a system including: an automatic supplement valve configured to automatically supplementing direct water; an expansion tank configured to be connected to the automatic supplement valve to adjust expansion pressure depending on the temperature change of the direct water; an exhaust heat pump configured to be connected to the expansion tank to circulate heat in an exhaust heat line connecting the exhaust heat source and the hot water tank; and a mixing valve configured to be extendedly formed between a first hot water line for receiving the exhaust heat of the exhaust heat source and a second hot water line having passed through the exhaust heat exchanger of the hot water tank to mix the first hot water with the second hot water.

The present invention relates to a combined fuel cell and boiler system, and comprising: a fuel cell portion for receiving supplied outside air and raw material gas and generating electricity through a catalyst reaction; and a boiler portion comprising a latent heat exchanger, which is connected to an exhaust gas pipe of the fuel cell portion, for collecting the latent heat of self-generated exhaust gas with the latent heat of exhaust gas from the fuel cell portion. The present invention can effectively increase the efficiency of a boiler by supplying the exhaust gas from the fuel cell to the latent heat exchanger in the boiler, so as to be heat-exchanged in the latent heat exchanger with the exhaust gas from the boiler and then discharged, and can simplify the composition by unifying exhaust gas pipes.

[Object] The purpose is to provide a cooling and heating device. [Solution] This cooling and heating device includes: a fuel cell device including a fuel cell; a heating unit which utilizes the heat of exhaust gas discharged from the fuel cell; a thermoacoustic cooler (14) including a cooling unit which performs a cooling function with use of the heat of the exhaust gas discharged from the fuel cell; and an exhaust gas switching unit (25) which allows the exhaust gas discharged from the fuel cell to be supplied to at least one of the thermoacoustic cooler (14) and the heating unit, whereby there can be provided a cooling and heating device which effectively utilizes the exhaust gas of a fuel cell.

The cogeneration system includes: a cogeneration apparatus which generates electric power using supplied fuel gas and supplies the electric power and heat; a heat accumulator which accumulates the heat supplied by the cogeneration apparatus; a controller which controls at least start and stop of the cogeneration apparatus; and a display unit that displays a remaining power generation duration which is a length of time for which the cogeneration apparatus can continue power generation. The controller further calculates the remaining power generation duration based on a remaining heat accumulation capacity which is a difference between (a) a maximum accumulable heat amount which is the amount of heat the heat accumulator is capable of accumulating and (b) a current accumulated heat amount that is the amount of heat currently accumulated in the heat accumulator, and causes the display unit to display the calculated remaining power generation duration.

A cogeneration system includes a fuel battery, a heat supply channel, and a first heat exchange portion. The fuel battery houses a fuel battery cell. The heat supply channel causes a medium that recovers heat generated by the fuel battery to flow therein. The first heat exchange portion that is positioned close to the outer side of the fuel battery or positioned within the fuel battery to cause the medium flowing in the heat supply channel to recover the heat generated by the fuel battery.

A cogeneration system has a fuel cell, a fuel cell system, and an indirect supply line. The fuel cell system has a first heat exchange unit, a heat storage tank, and a waste heat recovery line. The first heat exchange unit is positioned close to an outer side of the fuel cell or inside thereof and causes a heat medium to recover heat generated at the fuel cell. The heat storage tank stores the heat medium and provides heat in response to a hot-water supply demand. The waste heat recovery line causes the heat medium to circulate between the fuel cell and the heat storage tank. The indirect supply line includes a second heat exchange unit that supplies heat by causing the heat medium stored in the heat storage tank and a medium to exchange heat with each other.

Provided are a heat recovery apparatus based on a fuel cell and an operating method thereof. In the fuel cell-based heat recovery apparatus and the operating method thereof, hot water and steam may be generated by using heat generated while a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) operates to supply the generated hot water or steam to buildings, thereby reducing a rate of operation in cooling/heating equipment using electricity so as to reduce air-conditioning costs.

A power generation system of the present invention includes: a fuel cell unit (101) including a fuel cell (11) and a case (12); a controller (102); a combustion unit (103) provided outside the case (12) and configured to combust a combustible gas to supply heat; and a discharge passage (70) configured to cause the fuel cell unit (101) and the combustion unit (103) to communicate with each other, wherein in a case where an exhaust gas is being discharged to the discharge passage (70) from one of the fuel cell unit (101) and the combustion unit (103) and the controller (102) changes the flow rate of the exhaust gas discharged from the other unit, the controller (102) controls at least the flow rate of the exhaust gas discharged from the other unit such that the flow rate of the exhaust gas discharged from the one unit becomes constant.