A millenium ago, the Irish served as an island of civilization during history's dark ages. The Emerald Isle became known as the center of Europe's learning, its art, its music, and its literature. Through a dynamic organization known as Enterprise Ireland, today's Irish aim to lead the world in a more urgent task – greening the planet through practical and innovative sustainable technology.

When it comes to energy-efficient water heating, it's hard to top Kingspan's ThermoMax technology. And that's not just a vague promise; Declan Croucher, the company's North American VP/Sales has personally visited residential applications where 26 year old installations continue providing over 75 percent of a household's hot water needs.

Although ThermoMax units are most commonly found in residential settings, there are plenty in use at commercial sites as well: college campuses, airports, office buildings, and industrial facilities. A system can provide up to 80 percent of a home's annual hot water demand, displacing the gas or electricity typically used to heat water. Hot water is the third largest component of a home's annual utility bill, behind the furnace and air conditioner. 

ThermoMax was introduced to the market in 1981, when the company began manufacturing and supplying evacuated tube solar roof panels. A typical unit consists of a set of coated tubes within a vacuum sealed box. The vacuum provides very effective insulation; a well designed evacuated tube system can achieve 200° F temperatures within the tubes even as the ambient outdoor air drops below 10° F. "The evacuated tube is the most efficient collector on the market, because of the high level of insulation," said Croucher. "We pull a 10 to the minus 6 microbar vacuum during the manufacturing process. That is equivalent, the guys in R&D tell me, to interstellar space."

To insure that level of performance over the life of the product, Kingspan uses higher quality glass – and that has allowed them to provide a 20-year warranty on installed systems, by far the longest such offer in the industry.