Desenvolvimento de um tubo solar de baixo custo para iluminação natural

Abstract

Solar tubes are equipment used to transfer natural light into environments, generating energy savings during sunny periods and favoring the health of its occupants. This equipment, that has high cost and is little diffused in Brazil, is constituted of three parts: a dome, a reflective tube and a diffuser. Therefore, this work has, as general objective, developing a solar tube made of conventional flat mirrors, considering the low cost and the use of available materials. Moreover, the dome and the diffuser were not developed, and commercial models were used. Therefore, after design, construction and evaluation, the results in question of illumination and cost were satisfactory, and for most of the sunny days of tests, the illuminance exceeded the minimum recommended by the norm for a classroom, generating savings of up to 2160 Wh in a day. In addition, it is shown that the estimated cost for building the solar tube, developed in this works, is 360 reais.