A company which saves lives is hoping to save money on its bills after installing the largest solar powered heating system in the UK.

Petans, a safety training company based in Horsham St Faith, is more used to teaching people to deal with emergencies than conserving energy.

The company, which trains oil rig workers how to survive a helicopter crash at sea, splashed out more than £100,000 on 86 sqm of solar panelling to heat the water for its pool and showers. The pool contains a simulator designed to replicate conditions of a helicopter ditching in the North Sea.

The company hopes to halve its fuel bills and prevent more than 12,000kg of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere each year.

Petans general manager Michael Wilder said: “We were using 5,000 litres of kerosene every month to heat the pool. That was costing about £1,700. Although the solar panels have cost more than £100,000 we will get that back in five years.

“We also have photovoltaic panels and have a street light run off a mini wind turbine.”

The panels consist of eight 10 sqm units for the pool and a 6 sqm unit to heat the shower water. An average unit on a house is about 2 sqm. The panels are mounted of the roof and will help heat the 490 cubic metre pool to 28C. Solar heat should be able to provide 54pc of the pool’s heat requirements and the rest will be provided by condenser boilers.

Dave Halton from Energyworx, which installed the panels, said: “Water goes through the tubes and it picks up sunlight. That heat is pumped into a storage tank and taken to the pool as required. The system is automatic and so efficient that if the sun goes in the boilers go on. When the sun comes out they turn off.”

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