Avaliação da eficiência de materiais alternativos na construção de coletores solares de baixo custo

Abstract

With advances in technology and the prospects of population growth over time, there is a growing need for energy demands that associate energy generation with sustainability and low cost. In order to meet this energy need, several studies have been carried out to develop alternative practices in order to use sustainable and renewable energies from natural resources. Among the energy sources, solar energy is highlighted, as it presents a clean, renewable and non-polluting energy. In this way, this work aims to study alternative solar collectors, which use solar radiation to heat the water and reduce the use of energy provided by the electricity grid to heat the water of electric showers. The objective of this study was to study alternative materials for the manufacture of solar collectors, specifically PVC and Polyethylene and, through the results, compared with the literature, because they presented excellent efficiency and reached reached higher temperatures than the human body, making the water pleasant for bathing on sunny days. The results also indicate how much the collector color influences efficiency and that alternative solar collector designs can satisfactorily replace conventional solar collectors.