Scientists have called on the Government to help people create their own electricity at home and sell any excess to the National Grid.

A University of Sussex research team is leading the way in trialling a system in which householders make their own power, putting a cap on rising fuel costs.

Today, the Sussex Energy Group, part of the Science and Technology Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at University of Sussex, will pass its research findings to the Government.

Politicians have already announced plans to encourage millions of households togenerate their own electricity.

But experts at SPRU, working with academics from the University of Southampton and Imperial College, say this is only possible if it is backed with effective policies.

Their research shows that consumers who want to make power at home are held back by a bewildering array of hurdles.

In their advice to the Government, the team will argue that household power generation - known as micro-generation - will only be attractive if the cost is significantly reduced.

Micro-generation involves the use of technologies such as solar panels, rooftop wind turbines and micro-CHP central heating boilers that also generate electricity. Its expansion has been part of government policy to tackle climate change for more than two years but specific measures to make this happen have been slow to materialise.

Jim Watson, of the Sussex Energy Group, is the leader of the cross-university research project, known as Unlocking The Power House.

He said: "These technologies hold great promise but they are fighting on an uneven playing field. Our research shows that some basic changes in regulations could make a significant difference. People should be given the sort of help that energy companies receive through tax breaks when they invest in new power stations."

The recent rises in energy prices have made micro-generation more attractive but not enough for a significant breakthrough. Payback times for some technologies are measured in decades.

Consumers who replace a central heating boiler will have to wait up to ten years to pay back the additional costs of a new micro-CHP unit.

For more details about the Unlocking The Power House project, visit www.sustainable technologies.ac.uk/projects/ micro.htm