Desenvolvimento de coletores solares de baixo custo para aquecimento de água em piscinas residenciais

Abstract

In this study, the feasibility of installing low cost alternative solar heaters in the city of Cachoeira do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, was analyzed. Its main focus is on the heating of water for residential swimming pools, in order to guarantee thermal comfort. For this, a thermal study was carried out on two models of solar collectors, one with cover and the other without. The collectors developed were constructed with PVC pipes, and in the case of the collector with cover, it was also built using PET bottles. The method to evaluate the performance of both collectors was by means of the experimental measurement of the temperature variation of the water stored in the collector. The results showed the inviability of the project of low cost solar heaters in residential swimming pools due to the large quantity of collectors required for the heating of the water volume and the low efficiency of the heaters. The highest efficiency found was for the solar collector with coverage, around 15,92%, and the maximum temperature reached inside the heater of 50 ° C. However, the capacity of the solar heaters to realize a considerable increase of temperature for low volumes of water is proved, opening a great possibility of application in residences for the heating of the water of the shower and enabling the reduction of the consumption of electric energy for conversion into energy thermal.