Canton inventor Robert Cuppetilli has received a patent for a secondary heating system he says will sharply reduce energy consumption, slash customer bills and create thousands of jobs for companies that install it.
“This is like a gold mine with no end in the bank,” Cuppetilli, 72, said, sitting in a Canton home where he already has installed the new system.
A consultant and former demolition business owner, Cuppetilli has enlisted partners and formed Sunrise Mechanical Inc., in hopes of marketing what he calls an industry-changing creation that has prototypes for natural gas, propane, fuel oil and electric heating systems.
He also has a separate patent pending for a secondary cooling system he says will dramatically curb energy usage and reduce consumer bills.
Cuppetilli has compared his energy usage and customer bills with those of friends and neighbors who don't have the secondary heating system, and he has kept charts to show the results.
Last December, a Plymouth woman who has a home similar in size to Cuppetilli's 5,875-square-foot house had a utility bill of $631 compared to his $192, even though she kept her temperature setting at 62 degrees compared to his 71 degrees.
Cuppetilli has compared several homes with similar results. Joe Barone, a business partner and attorney, has been impressed by the results.
“The numbers are there, and they're quite phenomenal,” he said. “I think he's got something here.”
Cuppetilli estimates his invention can reduce heating costs by 67 percent or more. He hopes to secure bids from companies for the exclusive right to manufacture and distribute the secondary heating system.
Essentially, the heating system operates in supplemental mode to carry water from a water heater to the heat exchanger within an air passage in the furnace. Air within the air passage passes through the heat exchanger and is heated from the water. Then, the water returns to the water tank.
Meanwhile, a supplemental thermostat connected to the system controls an air circulator for the furnace without requiring the furnace to be activated. The furnace will turn on and heat the air only if the supplemental mode isn't sufficient to maintain the desired temperature.
Cuppetilli also uses coils and soapstone, which retains heat for 48 hours, for the system that gravity-feeds heat through his house without requiring much work from the furnace. A thermostat for the secondary heating system is set higher than the one for the furnace.
“What controls this whole thing is the thermostat,” Cuppetilli said, adding later, “The only thing I really use off the furnace is the blower. I figure I'm saving about 67 percent on my heating bill.”
It sounds complicated, and it is. Cuppetilli concedes he has spent hours explaining his invention to industry insiders. Yet, he seems confident it works — and Barone and others say he has the statistics to show it.
If he gets his invention marketed, Cuppetilli said the system could be installed without affecting a furnace's warranty.
Cuppetilli has sought bids from 29 furnace companies, and he would get royalties. He said utility companies, which stand to lose revenue, “don't want to see this.”
Even so, he said his invention could create thousands of jobs in an economy that sorely needs them. Moreover, he said he will dictate that all parts used for installation are made in America.
“I want to keep the work here,” he said.
dclem@hometownlife.com | (313) 222-2238
Resource: http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20100516/NEWS03/5160458
