It looks like one of those inflatable pool loungers you use to soak up the sun. However, SolarStore panels are meant for a more practical use. Backpackers can use them to store up to 3 full tanks of water per day while heating the water at the same time. Easy to fold, easier to use, SolarStore panels are now being looked to provide not only heated water, but also solar energy to low income and third world housing.

IDC, the SolarStore Panels manufacturer, has announced plans to mass-produce an inflatable solar panel for less than $200 and can easily pay itself back over a short period of six months. Utilizing the heating power of the sun, the SolarStore’s three chamber panel construction can heat water coming into the PVC chambers, maintain the heat thanks to the air chamber insulation, and can process the equivalent of three hot water heaters full of water per day. And considering that hot water heaters are a primary waste of energy all around the world, the results could not only save energy, but also help make the planet more green. Cheap energy from the Sun that replaces hot water heaters in the process, and it’s portable. That’s not only thinking green, that’s thinking smart.

Hat tip: New Launches