Sounds like snake oil to me but who cares? Heat pumps already have a coefficient of performance much higher than 2 which is all they claim for this device.
here's my guess. The potash with electricity an in a catlyst bed goes into solution and enrgy is released causing the water to get warmer than without the potash. As the hot water cools, the potash reverses and comes out of solution and the heat of solution energy is taken from the water. If they measured the water return temperature, it will look as if the house needed more enrgy to keep it warm.
Need a Chemist who does heats of solution to get the exact details.
dcasto: That's the most plausible (and original) thing I've heard so far. The other plausible view is that the "secret ingredient" is actually fuel that will obviously need replacing on a regular basis.
If anyone reads BBC Focus magazine (highly recommended), check out this month's back page. Some interesting thoughts about discoveries that appear to break fundamental physical laws.
Not in the same branch of physics, but isn't there a device that uses what is effectively water hammer to heat commercial-size buildings? Must do some Google on that.
