Producer gas, a source of rural domestic energy

Small rural towns suffer from a lack of affordable domestic energy. Through the gasification of woody matter, power can be created by combusting the produced gas in an internal combustion engine connected to a generator to create usable electric power. This power can in turn be used to heat and cool the homes of nearby residences. The energy requirements of the two towns considered was estimated through a simple thermodynamic analysis of the heat lost to the environment through the windows of a house due to the temperature difference between desired temperature and environment temperature. The two towns considered have very different power requirements due to both number of residences and local average temperatures. The suitability of gasification to supply the power needs of the two towns is considered to be feasible in both cases, however in the case of the overseas location some doubt exists concerning the effects that might take place to the environment through the removal of too many trees. Alternative energy sources considered are solar and hydro. Hydro in particular is considered to be a suitable solution to the power needs of both towns