Solar panels help reduce carbon emissions

Solar Power Scotland, which is based in Montrose, unveiled the product at the All-Energy Conference in Aberdeen.

The firm said the system, which can be connected to an ordinary water tank, could cut water heating costs by more than two thirds.

The company has been supplying small portable units to the caravan and motor home market for the last five years.

SPS said there was "more than enough" sun in Scotland to make the panels - containing tubes which are made on the same principle as a vacuum flask - a feasible option.

The firm's finance director Mary Haddick said its system had been developed "to meet increasing demand from the public to reduce ever-spiralling fuel bills and to do something proactive in helping reduce damaging carbon emissions".

She said: "The panels are a real alternative energy option for the 21st Century."