Hot driveways in summer could be heating swimming pools thanks to one Whangarei student's Central Northland Science Fair winning project.
Huanui College student Richard Young came up with his project to find a way to heat a pool from solar energy.
"I was talking to my friend about how she heated her pool with solar panels, and we were getting a new driveway put in at the same time and I just went from there," he said.
Richard's project involves a model to show how copper pipes laid in aggregate could be heated from the asphalt laid on top. The warmed water would be pumped into a swimming pool nearby.
The 16-year-old said his studies showed his model, Hot Aqua Driveway, heated water by 2C.