Brazilian Solar Water Heating Systems Evaluation

The Brazilian "National Electricity Conservation Program" - PROCEL - runs regular surveys in the electric-energy-consumption market. These studies are used as valuable data to better plan the actions of this program. These data also evaluate the program's performance by identifying the level of penetration of the most efficient electric equipment within the residential sector. PROCEL's main lines of action is to promote and make available the most efficient technologies. Based on the results from the latest survey, it is estimated that 24% of the electric-energy consumption of the residential sector is used by electric shower devices, which instantaneously heat the water that flows through them, normally using an electric resistance of 5 kW. These are an important factor in a country where electric-heating devices are present in about 73% of Brazilian households. Keeping that in mind, the purpose of this work is to present the main results of the Brazilian Solar-Water-Heating-Systems Evaluation, finished in 2010, where 535 installations were visited and more than 50 researchers from different universities participated in the project. Moreover, seven Brazilian cities were selected to be studied. The information was collected from field research and statistically treated. The collected information focused on the adequacy of the project to the household, installation, operation and life cycle of the systems, as well as the users' satisfaction level. Technical questionnaires were developed to summarize all the required information, such as a Web site designed to organize and manage the data collected and a Matlab application that performed the dimensioning and F-chart systems evaluation. Quality indicators were created through a full system monitoring, with thermographic analysis and evaluation of shading influence at the system's efficiency, using the Ecotect software.431143125SMA Solar Technology AG,Viessmann GroupAvaliação Do Mercado de Eficiência Energética No Brasil: Pesquisa de Posse de Equipamentos e Hábitos de Uso Da Classe Residencial No Ano Base 2005, , http://www.procelinfo.com.br, Available at: Accessed on: 27th of July 2011Tabelas de Consumo de Energia Elétrica, , http://www.inmetro.gov.br, Available at: Accessed on: 27th of July 2011http://www.abrava.com.br, Associação de Brasileira de Refrigeração, Ar Condicionado, Ventilação e Aquecimento Accessed on: 27th of July 2011Leite, H.G., (2004) Considerações Sobre Amostragem, , Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, Universidade Federal de ViçosaMingoti, S.A., (2005) Análise de Dados Através de Métodos de Estatística Multivariada - Uma Abordagem Aplicada, , Editora UFMG, Belo HorizonteDuffie, J.A., Beckman, W.A., (1991) Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes, , John Wiley &ampSons, INC, 2a EdiçãoFantinelli, J.T., (2006) Análise Da Evolução de Ações Na Difusão Do Aquecimento Solar de Água para Habitações Populares: Estudo de Caso Em Contagem - MG, , Tese de D.Sc., Unicamp, Campinas, SP, Brasi