Q&A about the personal electrolyser

Every Consumer should have renewables and an electrolyser.

secondary costs of hydrogen production
how many liters of water per kg hydrogen? Wieviel Liter Wasser für 1 kg Wasserstoff

How efficient is a PEM Elektrolyser really?

The efficiency is about 50 to 60%. That means for one kilowatt hour of electricity you get little more than half a kilowatt hour worth of hydrogen.

How much heat will a PEM Electrolyser emit?

Like in all electrical procession an electrolyser will emit heath. It might be around 40 % of the Power consumption. So if you have a 10 kW electrolyser you’ll will get 4 kW worth hot water at maybe 70 degrees Celsius

wieviel Strom kWh für 1 kg Wasser
jede Umwandlung von MPPT Tracking, Elektrolyse, Kompression von Wasserstoff und die Rückverstromung mit Brennstoffzellen ist Verlustbehaftet.

How much Money / Value can I make in one hour?

There are different ways to look at the theoretical value of hydrogen.

  • You can look at the gas station price and take it as saving. In Germany the Hydrogen price right now is 12,5 € per Kilogram. Consider it to be under up to 750 bar pressure which rises the value. If you have the Folks-Elektrolyser you will earn about 18 cents per hour.
  • You can calculate the cost benefit analysis of hydrogen with the calorific value of the produced hydrogen at the price you pay for electricity at your grid. In Germany the price for one kilowatt-hour of electricity of 40 cents. With the Volks-Electrolyzer you will store solar energy worth 4,4 € per day.
  • The hydrogen value can be compared with the calorific value of natural gas. Especially because, you would need a fuel cell to re convert solar electricity back to direct current when the sun isn’t shining. If you burn hydrogen all you need is the electrolyzer, safety equipment and a burner. You can earn up to 3,3 € per day with a Volks-Electrolyser compared to natural gas.

How much Water will it need to run an electrolyser for one hour per Kilowatt?

The rule of thumb for water consumption of electrolyzers is 9kg water per kilogram of H2. Another way to approximate the necessary water for electrolysis is 80 % to 90% of the Volume of hydrogen gas. For example if you have a Norm liter Nl/h as hydrogen output you will need 800 to 900 ml of deionized water.

How much deionizer will I need?

Here you find a calculation tool or excel tool to calculate how much resin is needed to deionize your quantity of water. If you have nothing to mesure the conductivity of the water try the website of your local water provider.

How much will the maintenance cost?

You will have to refresh the volks-electrolyzer after 40.000 hours, something between 5 and 10 years. The older the electrolyser gets the more heat will be dissipated and less hydrogen will be produced. The cleaning of the membranes, the catalysts and the metal will cost approximately 3750 €. If you use the electrolyser 24 hours through a battery the volks-electrolyzer will last 5 years and you should put 750 € aside every year.

How much secondary energy will be needed?

There are little pumps with 5 W circulating the water. The compressor will need about 300 Watt power.

How long will an Electrolyser last?

The Volks-Elektrolyser will last minimum 5 Years when constantly used. Time will tell what will be the life time in the renewable energy sector. Mabe it will last ten years and more.

Just in comparison a gasoline car lasts 3000 hours which is not even one Year of driving.

If you wanna compare with other electrolyser manufacturers check out the international hydrogen price list with technical data about all hydrogen relevant components.