Baxi Group has been victorious at the Micropower Awards 2009, winning the hotly contested Innovation category for the Ecogen microCHP unit.

The prestigious award was given to Baxi in recognition of the mass-market appeal of the Ecogen unit. It is a wall-hung micro combined heat and power boiler that uses a Free Piston Stirling Engine to generate 1kWh of electricity while providing space heating and hot water, and is no bigger than a standard domestic boiler. It is also virtually noise and vibration free, leading many to see it as a potential successor to condensing boilers.

Baxi have dealt with production and tolerance issues in an innovative manner and have developed a product which delivers significant carbon and energy savings. In the field trials, the units have consistently produced two thirds of the households’ electrical requirements, of which around one third has been used in the home and one third exported back to the grid.  Baxi has also been lobbying the Government to create an effective policy framework to support the roll out of sustainable energy technologies.

Awards were presented in four categories: Innovation, Key Project, Public Sector and Outstanding Personal Contribution. The evening was hosted by author and broadcaster Penney Poyzer and the awards were presented by the president of the Micropower Council, Baroness Maddock.

Baroness Maddock commented: “We were delighted with the quality of the entries this year, which represent the growing strength of the industry and demonstrate the extent to which microgeneration technology is becoming increasingly mainstream and gaining wider public acceptance. The judges were very impressed by the breadth of applications – from individuals, businesses and local authorities as well as the microgeneration industry and fuel poverty and environmental organisations.”