Tadpole improves efficiency and reduces energy consumption, CO2 emissions and energy bills

(19/10/2007)

According to figures from OFGEM and the Centre for Sustainable Energy, an average household emits 3.3 tonnes of CO2 per year from a gas ‘space and water’ central heating system and improving efficiency by 30% could reduce this by almost one tonne per year. If just 10% of the 13 million UK homeowners with a gas boiler heating system improved efficiency by 30% the net reduction of CO2 emissions could be over 1.25 million tonnes a year.

61-year old Stan Whetstone of Barlby North Yorkshire left his 23-year career in the heating industry to put Tadpole into development and the technology was first patented in December 2006. Piloting Tadpole over the last 12 months, Whetstone has recorded an impressive 30% improvement in the efficiency of his own household central heating system with an estimated knock on reduction in household CO2 emissions by as much as two thirds of a tonne and a drop in the annual bill from around £620 to £400.

Tadpole works on the simplest of principles, improving the efficiency of heating systems by minimising the dissolved air which makes the water in boilers slower to heat. With the air removed, boilers reach higher temperatures much faster, resulting in much less energy from gas, electric or oil being required.

The Tadpole sits between the boiler and the pump, which sucks the primary water through it. As the water passes through Tadpole, it vortexes and there is also a pressure drop within the body pf Tadpole, cause by the action of the pump. This results in all the dissolved air being driven out of solution and out through an automatic air vent.

The technology is based on an old 80s technology which was used to get a flat or bungalow to be able to use a wet, gravity fed central heating system, with a very low static head of water, to work properly without the huge problems of corrosion caused by the low head of feed water.

As added benefits, Tadpole works silently without vibrations and even reduces the need to bleed systems, as the oxygen which contributes to the corrosion is no longer present. Tadpole can be fitted to most central heating systems which operate on a stored water or an ‘immersion heater’ principle, whether gas, electric or oil is the energy source although improvements in efficiency will vary significantly depending on the age, size and type of heating system.

Over the last 12 months, Stan has not only been piloting his own Tadpole with success but he already has a number of other very satisfied customers. J.P Westalls of Hexham fitted a Tadpole to a persistently problematic gas central heating system earlier this year and, to the delight of the customer, witnessed an almost immediate and dramatic improvement in efficiency with radiators that hadn’t been heating up at all, rapidly becoming hot.

Similarly, Mr. Goodyear of Nottingham very quickly found it necessary to turn his gas heating system down by a third after fitting a Tadpole unit, resulting in equivalent savings on his bills. Based on the successes to date, a number of distributors in East and West Yorkshire, the North East and the Midlands are already supplying the unit.

The unit is 200mm tall X 150mm dia. There are two connections, one in at the top of the unit and the other is at the bottom. Tadpole can fit in most airing cupboards. There is also an automatic air vent that fits to the top of the unit. It is lightweight and supported by the pipe work.

Tadpole is simple to fit and costing a retail price of just £195 including VAT.

Related categories:  Boilers - Combination and condensing   Boilers - Domestic   Boilers - Gas   Central heating systems and pumps   Energy Conservation   Hot water generation and supply   Immersion heaters   Residential applications 

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