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Project
Proposal: Natural Water Heating on
Roofs
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Full description of problem/need |
In Pabal, a rural
village in Maharashtra, India, approximately
90% of the community uses hot water
for showers and/or laundry each day.
To heat the water the population uses
natural gas or kerosene heaters. This
causes an unnecessary cost for the community
on fuel and on natural resources. As
Pabal is in a particularly dry area
of Maharashtra, there is sunshine for
the majority of the year. This natural,
free resource for heating water seems
to be wasted. Water could be easily
heated on roof space using solar radiation
and then stored in an insulated tank
for future use, thereby stopping the
use of electrical or natural gas heating.
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| How will the local
community use the proposed solution? |
The water can be
heated on local rooftops using an efficient
method (piping, running water off sheet
metal, etc.). The water can then be
stored in an insulated tank at ground
level, and then used at a time in the
future (e.g., the next day) when people
have their morning showers, or to wash
crockery, floors, etc. This would mean
that living standards and cleanliness
of the community would improve, therefore
improving health standards. This project
can be linked to the rainwater harvesting
project.
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| Estimate of the economic
benefit anticipated and plans for training
of the local community? What are the
major impacts on such a project? |
| An implemented project
would mean that the community would
spend less on fuel for water heating.
This could add up to a large saving
over the course of a year. Therefore
a cheap design of a rooftop method of
heating water could save the community
a lot of money as the payback time for
the investment could be short.
Vigyan Ashram has welding capabilities
and other facilities that would be
required to implement a solution,
at least in the form of a prototype.
This solution would be more environmentally
friendly. However, less kerosene would
be sold so some jobs may be lost,
but some jobs would also be created
by the construction of a solution.
Also, the solution would save the
community a lot of time as hot water
would be easily and quickly available.
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| Full description of
the local situation (e.g. social, economic,
geographical, political) |
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Some wealthy residents of Pabal heat
water on their roofs already using
a system of pipes and holding tanks
which use the day's heat to warm the
water, then store it overnight and
use it for morning showers. However,
the cost of installation is high and
so this technology is not available
to everyone in Pabal.
 Typical
rooftops in Pabal
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| Full description of
relevant infrastructure available locally
and/or internationally |
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None at present.
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