Eventos Anais de eventos
COBEM 2021
26th International Congress of Mechanical Engineering
Feasibility analysis and implementation of an alternative solar heater for low and middle income families in the Abaeté region
Submission Author:
Franciane Cristina Rodrigues Carvalho , MG , Brazil
Co-Authors:
Elaine Gonçalves da Costa, Arthur Ferreira, Saulo Couto de Castro , Franciane Cristina Rodrigues Carvalho
Presenter: Franciane Cristina Rodrigues Carvalho
doi://10.26678/ABCM.COBEM2021.COB2021-2046
Abstract
Brazil has a great potential for environmentally clean energy production through solar energy. However, the high investment to acquire the solar water heating system available on the market makes it unviable for a large part of the population. As an alternative, the electric shower is used for bathing, which besides being an expensive piece of equipment, requires a large amount of energy, which generates more spending in homes. Given this context, this study aims to analyze the feasibility and implementation of an alternative low-cost solar heater, ASBC (Aquecedor Solar de Baixo Custo - Low Cost Solar Heater), for low or medium income families, enabling savings and renewable energy generation. The main relevance of the research concerns the ease of access to hot water by low and medium income families, making it possible to partially deactivate the electric shower and, consequently, reduce the expenses with electric energy. Initially, the adopted methodology consisted of determining the amount of hot water and energy consumption in an average family home, as well as surveying the needed material to build the ASBC. Finally, the saving was set, both in kWh and in cash, for an average family located in the city of Abaeté - Minas Gerais. The expected results are economic viability for production, installation and operation of ASBC by low and medium income families for a period of one year. At the end of the study, it was found that the low-cost solar heater allows savings of up to 22%, enabling great family savings. Energetically, the savings were 90 kWh for a standard family of 4. Considering the price of kWh to be R $ 1.00, the monthly savings are R $ 90.00. In addition, ASBC's efficiency and functionality were validated, making it viable for low and middle income families. Finally, benefits were found both at the environmental level, due to the reduction of pollution in the acquisition of electricity, and at the social level, since the savings generated can improve the quality of life of the studied family.
Keywords
Solar Energy, solar energy thermal, Low cost solar heate, renewable energy, Clean and Renewable Energy, Economy, Social responsibility
