More people are turning to hydrogen fuel cell technology to power their homes, new sales figures from Toho Gas reveal.

The Japanese firm has sold more than 1,000 of its Ene-Farm systems, which are used to generate domestic electricity and heat.

According to The Japan Times, demand for the fuel cell units has grown since the March 11th earthquake and tsunami, which severely impacted the supply of power in Japan.

Toho Gas sold 220 units in 2009, the first year on the market, and a further 515 last year.

Now, having already delivered 283 systems, the firm expects to sell 900 units this year, according to the newspaper.

"Since the March 11th disasters, more people have been revisiting the way they use energy at home and paying attention to the combination of electricity and gas for their use," Hironari Tachi, senior manager for marketing, told the news provider.

According to its makers, a household with an Ene-Farm system can save 50,000 yen (£425) a year in energy bills, and reduce CO2 emissions by 1.3 tonnes annually.

"The co-generation system offers the superb functionality of fuel cells in a compact and easy to use form, and can even provide you with hot water from the heat it generates producing power," they explain.

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Fuel cell generator for homes takes off (17/09/11)

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