A greener way to heat water (From Stroud News and Journal)

A greener way to heat water

A PLUMBING engineer from Stroud has come up with an invention he believes could revolutionise eco-friendly water heating and help save the planet.

John Hunt, who lives in Uplands, has been working on a super-efficient solar water heater that turns existing technology on its head.

By adding a specially designed heat exchanger and relying on gravity and the simple scientific fact that heat rises instead of pumps to carry the water round the system and to the taps Mr Hunt reckons he has come up with a solar solution that is not only much more efficient, but much cheaper to install too.

"The environment is the most important thing," he told the SNJ. "That's really why I've come up with all this.

"But from a financial point of view, it's much cheaper to install than a traditional solar hot water system because it doesn't need half the parts and doesn't need any expensive electrics.

"Once it's in, it's much more efficient too, so people carry on saving money," he claimed. Mr Hunt has produced several prototypes of the heat exchanger and says his patented system has worked very well in his own tests.

Now he is at a stage where he wants to start marketing his invention. "If I had the customers there would be nothing to stop me setting up a factory to make them tomorrow," he said.

"I've had some interest in it but don't know how to market it. "I've had the idea and made the thing, that's where my expertise is, but now I'll be looking for someone to market it."