Companies can save £100s on fuel bills via automatic solar panel control

Led by Prof Michael Hoffman, a team of scientists have produced a toilet that is solar-powered. The Caltech team's prize-winning design was endorsed by Bill Gates, the PC billionaire who donates part of his extensive wad of money to gadgets promoting third world causes. Gates believes this self-contained unit, which recycles water and breaks down human waste into storable energy, can contribute to his foundation's push to improve health in the developing world.

Built into the HeatingSave PC-enabled business energy management tool is the ability to control solar panels (particularly the more efficient glass evacuated tube type) and use these to heat or pre-heat hot water cylinders. Companies can save £100s on their annual fuel bills via this system. Temperature sensors are placed within the panel (or panel flow), on the return and within the zone to be heated. Unlike simple solar panel controllers, HeatingSave provides automatic control of the resulting hot water by directing it to either the hot taps or as pre-heated water into a secondary cylinder.