An independent engineer has spoken of his delight after being awarded for his work installing solar panels and new boilers at a nursing home - in a project which has cut its energy consumption by half and saved thousands in bills.

John Battams, 52, scooped a prestigious solar Installer of the Year gong at Worcester Bosch Technologies's annual environmental awards for helping to transform Cambridge Nursing Home in Wanstead.

Mr Battams, who has been in the trade since he left school at the age of 16 and founded his own business called Eco-Gas London five years ago, said winning had been one of the highlights of his career.

The businessman, of nearby New Wanstead, told the Guardian: "Just to be on the shortlist was fantastic, but to get the award makes me feel like I've won the [football] Premiership.

"It was a long and complicated job, it wasn't a money maker and we had to make sure we got it right. The home's boilers were very inefficient and they also wanted to be more green.

"We carried out the solar panel work last August. It had to be when it was warm so we could temporarily turn off the gas and so on, being a nursing home it was very important they kept the heating on as much as possible."

Worcester Bosch nominated Mr Battams for the award after working with him on installing the boilers at the nursing home.

Judges were impressed by how he had managed to make the Cambridge Park Road site dramatically more energy efficient and environmentally-friendly.

By winning he beat off competition from thousands of rival businesses across the country.

Mr Battams added: "We are very customer-focus and it was important to help the nursing home cut their bills, I'm very pleased with how it turned out."

The company, which Mr Battams runs with the help of his wife Maxine, started with a base in Wanstead but now has a showroom in Langston Road, Loughton, as well as offices in Shoreditch.