Do it yourself tech for community development

Ashoka-Lemelson Fellow Augustin Woelz, founder of Sociedade Do Sol (Brazil),  uses an“open source” approach and systemic outreach to students, teachers, universities, citizen sector organizations, and businesses to make his low-cost inventions easily accessible to communities.  He empowers families to build their own energy production systems in a process led by youth, which not only economically benefits families, but also helps develop new leadership roles for young people in society.

For instance, Agustin designed the Low Cost Solar Heating System (Aqueceder Solar de Baixo Custo – ASBC) as an affordable, open-source, build-it-yourself system to pre-heat water for domestic bathing,tailored to Brazil’s climate and consumption patterns.

The ASBC was designed after a challenge from the Sao Paulo government to reduce polluting gases while developing new technology based on clean energy.  Brazil has suffered strains on its electricity systems, in large part due to the inefficient energy used for simple heating functions.  Electricity used in shower heads alone account for 8 percent of the country’s total consumption, which in turn demands new generating stations and distribution grids, billions of dollars in new infrastructure and significant environmental damage.  In lower-income families, electricity used to heat water may account for 25% of the monthly electric bill).  Using the ASBC harnesses the natural strength of the tropical sun to help families reduce their electricity needs by nearly 30% while reducing greenhouse gases and eliminating the need to install environmentally destructive hydroelectric plants.

The system uses a storage tank with external thermal insulation, solar panels (assembled with sheets of extruded and ducted PVC panels normally used as wall and ceiling coverings), a point-of-use electrical shower heater with a hot/cold mixer and dimmer for thermal support, and a PVC piping system.  The rooftop appliance stores and heats water at 10% the installation cost of a traditional heating system.  The water heater is intended to reduce reliance on unclean and unsustainable fuels while reducing the energy strain on Brazil’s power grids, particular between 6-10pm (the end of the workday), when most Brazilians bathe.  Augustin is exploring three further adaptations of this technology in order to a) heat large quantities of water (ex. hotels, buildings, and swimming pools), b) recycle bathing water for use as toilet flush water, and c) dehydrate fruits and grains.

Agustin has distributed thousands of ASBC kits to schools and families and is exploring partnerships with companies to decrease production costs while increasing distribution and training in schools.  His solar power kits are designed to instruct school students and parents about the energy conservation and preservation of natural resources, a forward thinking approach to conservation.  Meanwhile, the Sociedade do Sol website which contains manuals for producing and using the equipment receives approximately 7,000 visits per month, helping social organizations, government agencies, and universities develop kits and apply his methodology.  Augustin imagines the day when every home and building in Brazil – and in similar climates across the world – will have an ASBC unit on its roof.

You can download manuals on how to construct them yourself at his site.