A new instant hot water solution, developed through the EU-funded RAPIDHEAT project, successfully optimised heating and control technologies to develop a lightweight low thermal mass heater that provides full temperature output within two seconds of switch-on.

This water heating innovation could transform the vending industry and provide significant energy savings for factories, offices and homes. Water heaters that can produce large volumes of "instant" hot water are needed in many commercial, industrial and public buildings, as well as in process and manufacturing industries that have intermittent demands for large volumes of hot water. These are cases where peak demand for hot water is many times the average — and the cost of heat losses from the hot water stored to meet that demand can be significant.

But the new water heater will also be useful for everyday activities. "Here in Britain we drink approximately 165 million cups of tea per day, along with 70 million cups of coffee," says RAPIDHEAT project coordinator Peter Duncan from Cressall Resistors in the UK. "That's a lot of hot drinks and a lot of hot water. Many of us rely on vending machines and those who do know the difference between a coffee that has been made with freshly boiled water and one that contains pre-heated water."

For further information, please visit the relevant European Commission website: http://cordis.europa.eu/news/rcn/124042_en.html.

See also the RAPIDHEAT project website: http://www.rapidheat.eu/