Medieval marvel solves heating crisis
A home-owner has managed to beat soaring gas bills by taking tips from the Middle Ages.
With power companies spending millions on cutting edge technology to save energy, Peter Breuer has slashed his gas bill from £20 to £5 a month using a stove based on a design from the 14th century.
The Hungarian tile stove is so effective at warming Mr Breuer's house that the 80-year-old grandfather has been able to switch off his central heating, reports The Daily Mail.
It uses just one small bundle of wood - which he often gets free from local tradesmen - to keep his home snug for an entire day.
"I live in a sizeable house and that's one of the reasons I had to fit the stove," said Mr Breuer, a retired Customs and Excise lawyer who lives in Westcliff-on-Sea, near Southend in Essex.
"With most stoves you put some wood in and you get a nice little fire but as soon as the flame's gone down, the heat disappears.
"But a tile stove works as a storage heater because there is a great mass of masonry inside which heats up and radiates heat through the tiles."
Mr Breuer has an electric water heater, so the only gas he uses now is for cooking on the hob.
He had the Hungarian stove fitted for £3,000 - around the same as it costs to install central heating.
The stoves are virtually unheard of in Britain but have been popular in Hungary, Germany, Switzerland, northern Italy and Scandinavia since Medieval times.
Nova
