Japan is harnessing hydrogen power for homes.

In one Japanese community, 2200 homes have been equipped with hydrogen fuel cells to provide not only hot water, but also heating to the houses.

The hydrogen is combined with oxygen derived from basic water to cause a chemical reaction from which energy is extracted. This is not new technology, it has been used with some success in the automobile industry, but this is its first commercial use in a real home environment.

The developers of the fuel cells claim that they only put out two thirds of pollution of conventional electricity systems. The grey, flat, fuel cells are approximately the size of a suitcase, and are usually positioned near to the heating tank for hot water. Using the hydrogen process, they give off sufficient heat to warm the water.

The oxygen used by the fuel cell is taken directly from the outside air, and the hydrogen is removed from the natural gas supply in the home via a device known as a reformer. There is one poisonous byproduct from the process, carbon monoxide.

A separate box mixes the carbon monoxide and oxygen to produce carbon dioxide; this chemical can contribute towards global warming, but is not poisonous. One of the benefits of this application is that the process produces considerably less greenhouse gas emissions per watt of electricity compared to traditional generation methods.

In addition, there is no energy waste as compared to regular electricity supplies that loose power as it is transmitted from the substation to the home. Another advantage is that just about every home in Japan is already connected to the national natural gas supply, allowing for easy conversion to the hydrogen fuel cell machinery.

The government of Japan is lending strong support to the fuel cell technology. In fact, it is already pledged $309 million per year for research into fuel cell development. It also plans that are least, 25% of all Japanese homes will be hydrogen powered by 2020.