A SOMERSET environmental group is hoping to make a village greener by encouraging residents to put high-tech gadgets on their roofs

A SOMERSET environmental group is hoping to make a village greener by encouraging residents to put high-tech gadgets on their roofs. Wedmore Green Group is inviting people to go along to a course to learn how to install their own solar water pipes.The pipes are fitted onto house roofs and hold a solution similar to anti-freeze. The solution is heated by the sun on the roof and then circulates through the hot water tank to heat household water, before being pumped back to the roof to heat up again. The group has invited representatives from Navitron, a company that makes the pipes, to give a demonstration on how to install them.Green group spokesman Steve Mewes said: "We already have 15 people signed up for the course but we would like more people to come along. "The pipe kits cost around £1,500 but the pay back is five years. Rather than using gas to heat a house, the solar pipes are a lot more environmentally friendly."I already have pipes on my roof and we can rely on them from March to October."The course will be held on July 27 at group member Melvyn Firmager's house in Stoughton Cross. People interested in attending can email Melvyn at m@melvynfirmager.co.ukThe group is also campaigning for battery collections in the village. Steve said: "Batteries are only tiny but if they are dumped in landfills they give off nasty chemicals that can do serious damage to the environment. "We would like the council to either collect them in the green boxes or have a collection point in the village. There are already battery collections in Highbridge and Cheddar, but people aren't willing to go that far and would rather just throw them in the bin."Steve would like people to write to Sedgemoor District Council's recycling officer Colin Mercer at colin.mercer@sedgemoor.gov.uk and paste Steve's email in so he can monitor how many emails are being sent. Steve's email is s.mewes@virgin.net