Description of business and summary of significant accounting policies (Details Textual) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012 Maximum [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Minimum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Nettlestone Enterprises Limited [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 American Dg New York [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Eurosite Power Inc [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Eurosite Power Inc [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Eurosite Power Inc [Member]
Percentage Of Owned Joint Venture									51.00%
Percentage Of Owned Subsidiary										82.80%	82.80%
Noncontrolling Interest, Ownership Percentage by Parent	51.00%		51.00%
Percentage Of Economic Interest	68.00%		68.00%
Subsidiary or Equity Method Investee, Cumulative Proceeds Received on All Transactions								$ 5,000				$ 45,000
Subsidiary or Equity Method Investee, Cumulative Number of Shares Issued for All Transactions								5,000,000				45,000,000
Sale Of Subsidiarys Common Stock Value Private Placement											1,250,000
Sale of Stock, Number of Shares Issued in Transaction											1,250,000
Sale of Stock, Price Per Share											$ 1.00
Common Stock, Dividends, Per Share, Declared Percentage										10.00%
Net loss	(1,259,490)	(1,109,516)	(5,078,148)	(2,013,411)
Proceeds from Issuance of Private Placement			3,531,534
Proceeds from issuance of common stock warrants			7,500	0
Proceeds from exercise of stock options			149,882	26,798
Demand Response Activity Revenue			13,610	59,709
Fair Value, Concentration of Risk, Cash and Cash Equivalents	13,706,971		13,706,971
Cash, FDIC Insured Amount	250,000		250,000
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life						15 years	12 years
Cost Of Construction			260,701	327,138
Allowance for Doubtful Accounts Receivable	$ 114,000		$ 114,000		$ 172,000