- A solar-powered water heating system for a Maasai school shower for teachers to use on a daily basis,
Today’s media often shows images of politicians, celebrities, and high technology, but too often, those that are essential cogs to the machine of society are left unhighlighted, despite the critical work that they do. One of these cogs is teachers, whose daily jobs are to inspire the next generations by giving them the building blocks of knowledge. Whether they are educators in California or in Kenya, there’s a pattern of teachers being underappreciated by society as a whole. This lack of appreciation makes finding and retaining teachers increasingly difficult. One way to show this due respect is by reducing the friction of working and instead increasing the comfort and ease of it.
At the end of the day, a hot shower is exactly what any person wants to clean off the grime of the day or start fresh for what’s to come. In addition to hot water showers being an appreciated comfort after a long day at school, it also encourages teachers to continue doing their best for every student that walks into their classroom. Sabore’s Well is a Non-governmental Organization (NGO) that has worked on the objectives of getting clean water and better education for the people of the Maasai community as Kenya’s statistical access to water is lower than the rest of the world’s. Sabore’s Well has succeeded with its initial objectives and is looking to expand its school’s amenities, such as providing hot shower water, to improve the quality of life for its students and teachers alike.
While a hot water shower may be considered the norm for many in the world, there are thousands that still lack reliable and consistent access to hot water for bathing and cooking. In countries like Kenya, rural families obtain hot water by burning coal or firewood. This not only releases harmful greenhouse gases but is also a time-consuming and expensive process. The firewood used to boil water is a partial contribution to Kenya’s growing deforestation problem, and no other group has understood this more than the Maasai people. Given this, a sustainable hot-water shower system is needed to adhere to the values of the Maasai people and reduce this project’s negative impact on the environment.
To obtain consistent hot water for showers, there are two things necessary: a method of heating up cold water and a method of getting the heated water to the user at a pressure appropriate for showering. In the typical North American household, these are done using a gas or electric-powered hot water tank, city water pressure, and using advanced shower technology to adjust the water pressure on the user end. However, in a more rural and off-grid location, these are not reasonable solutions. The solution then lies in the design thinking mindset to change perspective given the new environment and customer. Sunny-Side Solutions (S.S.S.’s) project aims to design a final product that is easy to maintain and use while ensuring Sabore’s Well’s need of providing their hard-working teachers with hot showers. The creation of a hot water shower system will not only provide an amenity for teachers at the school but will also increase the quality of education Sabore’s Well’s school students receive.
This project was founded with the help of Santa Clara University’s Frugal Innovation Hub. To reiterate, the FIH is a school-affiliated resource that is dedicated to engaging students in humanitarian projects through the help of non-profit partnerships, such as Sabore’s Well. With this, Sunny-Side Solutions understood the need to prioritize the frugal nature of their project and thus designed their system around the following frugal engineering impacts.
This project was designed to be human-centric, meaning that the system would tailor to the needs of the human as they are the sole user of the system. Specifically, the three Maasai teachers represent the humans who inspired this project. Taking into account their needs, the system was designed to best benefit their use of the system. The Maasai teachers, in addition to the Maasai community, hold strong familial values that empower the community as a whole. The water heating and pumping system aim to empower the teachers by providing them with a hot shower after long days of teaching at the school. The team found motivation through understanding the possible effects this system had to offer to the teachers, thus encouraging the best possible design.
Another important aspect of this system is simplicity. The system is to be easily functional and maintainable by the people in the community. The system must be simple enough that if maintenance were required, it would not call for professionals to fix it. The system consists of a generic design so that it can be replicated in different locations. Moreover, by using standard components and a simple configuration, this system allows for a setup that requires minimal technical expertise.
It is important for this project to be considered local to the Maasai community. The system is made up of components that can be locally found and sourced in the country. The work done on the system is to be performed by locals in the community as well, in order to ensure that the system can be maintained once implemented. The factor that sets this system apart from existing water heating products on the market is its economic benefit. This project is made to be affordable for developing communities in need of a solution. The system itself does not require expensive components, besides the solar panels to act as the source of power. The solar panels also serve an economic benefit as they will be used to power the bathroom lighting as well.
This section will cover possible obstacles and considerations if Sabore’s Well were to transform this Sunny-Side Solutions system into a sustainable business. This will include the cost of the project, including prototyping and intended travel plans, a structured business plan, which will outline how to encourage external investment, and project impact, covering the S.S.S. system’s positive and negative externalities. Talking with Sabore’s Well, upon concluding that traveling would not be a possibility, brought forth the suggestion of an instruction manual or building video. Thus, instead of traveling to Kenya to build, an illustrated instruction manual was drafted outlining the building materials, process, as well as obstacles that may occur, and their suggested solutions.
The tank and background connections should be adjusted for each location’s unique set-up. In addition, the use of words was avoided emphasizing visual and numerical clues to how the collector should be built. This method was chosen in order to overcome cultural, linguistic, and educational obstacles.
Because the Sunny-Side Solutions solar water heating system is going to be implemented for an actual customer, it is important to understand its potential impact, both positive and negative, on the community. The product can have many effects including economic, environmental, sustainability, manufacturability, ethical, health and safety, social, and political impacts that need to be further analyzed to ensure that the product provides the most benefit for its community.
The solar collector is the core of the project. It is the component responsible for heating the water efficiently and frugally. Not only is the Sunny-Side Solutions Solar Collector significantly cheaper overall as compared to other solar heating solutions available on the market, but it is also more environmentally friendly. The Sunny-Side Solutions Solar Collector does not need electricity directly to run, although for the system to run properly there must be a pump to facilitate the movement of the water. The S.S.S. Solar Collector was designed with frugality in mind. An economic analysis will support that the S.S.S. Solar Collector cost of operations is significantly cheaper compared to a solar collector such as the SolarGen Direct Pressurized Vacuum SWH Solar Heater, which is sold in Kenya.
An economic benefit analysis will be used in order to numerically justify that the S.S.S. Solar Collector is environmentally friendly. The major components of an economic benefit analysis include the cost of equipment and the cost of operation for each system. This study will reveal that the S.S.S. Solar Collector has a lower cost of operation, and thus a lower level of energy consumption. The S.S.S. Solar Collector proved to have lower Greenhouse Gas Emissions than the solar heaters on the market. A direct comparison is made between the S.S.S. solar collector and the SolaGen Direct Pressurized Vacuum. The cost of equipment for a SolarGen Direct Pressurized Vacuum SWH Solar Heater is approximately 110,000 Kenyan Shillings (KSh). The cost of equipment for the S.S.S. Solar Collector is roughly 74,000 Kenyan Shillings.
Calculating the cost of operation varies between heaters. The monthly cost of operation of the SolarGen Heater if found by first multiplying the average cost of electricity in Kenya per month by the energy generated by the system and then adding this quantity to the cost of equipment will yield the total operation cost of roughly 174,700 KSh. This cost of operation is then compared to the cost of operation of the S.S.S. Solar Collector. As a result of the S.S.S. Solar Collector not directly needing electricity to run, the cost of operation for the S.S.S. Solar heater is calculated from the cost of operating the pump and the cost of equipment. It is found that operating the S.S.S. Solar Collector would cost around 36,500 KSh. This means Sabore’s Well will be saving by almost 60 % using the S.S.S. Solar Collector. It is important to note that the cost of labor is not included in these calculations; additionally, the cost of equipment for the S.S.S. Solar collector includes a hot and cold water tank along with the solar collector. By the decreased cost of operation, S.S.S. is ensuring that this solution is more environmentally sustainable.
In addition to the hot water heating system itself, the amount of energy used in making each system is important to understand, beginning with the cost of making the SolarGen Direct Pressurized Vacuum SWH Solar Heater. When it comes to manufacturing anything made of steel, factories and companies alike are usually focused on one thing only, reducing costs. A Stanford research paper shows that for 1000 kg of steel to be produced, it would take about 13.95×10^9 J/metric tons (one metric ton is 1000 kg) of energy. Given the shape and function of the SolarGen heating system, the electric arc furnace method and hot rolling were used to calculate this number. The amount of steel needed to create the tank and the supporting frame is estimated to be 200 kg, based on typical metal prices. This correlates to about 2.8×10^9 J/metric tons of energy.
For comparison, a typical power drill uses 364 J/s, Watts. After formulating the steel for the main hot water tank, the vacuum process of the heating tubes must be considered. To summarize, solar vacuum tubes are made of two layers of Borosilicate to create the vacuum seal. The inner Borosilicate tube is coated with a layer of copper, aluminum, and aluminum/Nitrogen. Although there are no readily available sources regarding the energy consumption to create these layers, understanding the function and qualities of each layer indicates that high-precision and high-energy consuming machines must have been used.
Moving on to S.S.S.’ Solar Collector, the amount of energy needed is significantly lower simply due to the single unit made per batch. It was assumed for the SolarGen calculation that the machines themselves are pre-existing and do not need to be reproduced and the same will be done for power tools here as well. The spiral solar collector consists of three main components— the ½” irrigation tubing, the glass insulation cover, and the reflective foam backing—that can be split into what is harmful, plastic and foam, to the environment and what isn’t the glass. All of these items are likely to have been manufactured or finished in a factory, of which the average consumes 3.42×10^8 J (95.1 kWh) of electricity annually.
While plastic is generally seen as having a negative impact on the environment (in 2018, roughly 8.3 billion tons of plastic had been produced worldwide, yet only 7 % of that was recycled.), there are plastics that are better than others, like the high-density polyethylene (HDPE) irrigation tubing that the S.S.S. Solar Collector uses. To produce a tube of HDPE, approximately 9.37×10^7 J (26 kWh) of energy is used per kilogram of pipe, which, for this project, results in 2.13×10^8 J. Next, combining the consumption of natural gas, electricity, and all other fuels, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that one shipment of glass sheets would consume about 5.8×10^21 J (55 trillion Btu).
The final component, reflective foam (polystyrene) insulation, is what negatively impacts the environment the most in Sunny-Side Solutions’ solar heater. To briefly summarize, polystyrene is not only non-biodegradable but is also the fifth largest contributor to hazardous waste. If during the production of steel, the basic oxygen furnace method was used, the steel Solargen’s manufacturing process could also release additional harmful toxins, coke, into the atmosphere, but otherwise, the foam, which when manufactured releases hydrocarbon that when bonded to nitrogen oxide forms ozone, is much more unsustainable. Despite this, keeping the cost of the entire system to a minimum was one of the S.S.S.’ main goals and thus, a balance between economically and environmentally sustainable was found. The economic and social benefits of Sunny-Side Solutions' system will be analyzed below to further explain the use of lesser sustainable materials for the initial prototype.
Sunny-Side Solutions’ solar collector not only impacts the environment but also the people and communities it will be implemented into. One societal impact that comes as a result of this engineering project is the reduced economic costs required to produce the Sunny-Side Solutions design as opposed to purchasing solar water heaters currently on the market. The initial cost to purchase and install this large piece of machinery can be very expensive even for homes in a developed country like the United States. The thought of purchasing one of these in a developing country such as Kenya where the average wage of a citizen can range from $20 to $100 per month becomes unfathomable. The frugal mindset with which the Sunny-Side Solutions solar water heater was designed meant building a system out of cheap and accessible materials that have the ability to be long-lasting and easily replicable. Hence, the S.S.S. Solar Collector has been constructed with the Maasai community in mind, a rural community that does not run off a power grid and does not have regular access to hot water and, thus, needs to make the most of the solar energy afforded to it.
The total cost to manufacture the S.S.S. Solar Collector is $343 which would be covered by money fundraised by the senior design team and the NGO Sabore’s Well. Depending on the manufacturer and the size of the building, the cost to purchase a solar collector can be as high as $7,500 alone but typically costs around $2,500 which is a percent difference of about 152 %. There is the added cost of hiring a professional plumber or solar technician to install the plumbing and tanks required to run the solar collector. The average technician charges $70 per hour and may take several days to set up which averages $1,500.
Due to its simplicity, the S.S.S. Solar Collector can easily be constructed with hand tools and does not require a professional solar technician to perform the installation. The material selection plays a big role in the overall cost of the solar water heater. The evacuated tube models are made of cylindrical glass which oftentimes has to be custom manufactured which drives up prices. For this reason, the S.S.S. system is made up of plastic irrigation tubing, which, although less environmentally friendly, is cheaper and more widely available in Kenya. Because of the complexity of commercial solar water collectors, purchasing and replacing damaged or worn-out parts in a rural area such as Kenya can be very expensive and time-consuming as parts may not be easily accessible and have to be brought in from other countries.
The total cost required to purchase and install a commercial solar water heater comes out to about $4,000 whereas S.S.S.’s frugal solution would cost upwards of $400. The $3,600 that is being saved can then be used to go toward other projects or necessities in the community such as enhancing the student's educational experience. According to the Educational Market Association, on average an individual teacher will spend $485 to augment their classrooms spending $149 on supplies like pencils and notebooks, $198 on instructional materials like books and whiteboards, and $138 on miscellaneous items like tissue and sanitizer. For three teachers this comes out to $1,455, leaving $2,145 that can be used to further support individual students in the purchasing of backpacks, calculators, clothing, and more.
Another societal impact that our project brings is the ability to take a hot shower. It is a norm to take daily showers and adding to that, it is a norm to be able to take a hot shower in our society; however, that is not the case for other areas of the world. This product brings hot shower water to the Maasai community, in order to provide a sense of appreciation for the teachers at the school. Kenya has a population of 50 million people and only 30 % have access to hot water. The need for hot water is often overlooked by society as it is so easily accessible for us in the United States. On average, in the United States, weekly shower statistics prove that women shower six times and men shower seven times per week. A hot shower has proven to be beneficial to human health as it improves blood circulation, cleanses the skin, relieves muscles, relieves respiratory issues, and decreases stress and insomnia. These benefits are only additions to the appreciated comfort and cleanliness of a hot shower after a long day. With hot water showers, the Maasai teachers will feel refreshed and encouraged to teach the children at the school.
There is also environmental harm involved with the amount of water used for showers. The more water that is used, the more water that is needed to be pumped, leading to the increased usage of energy, chemicals, and carbon emissions. According to estimates from the Public Policy Institute of California, approximately 20 % of statewide electricity use and 30 % of business and home use of natural gas goes to pumping, treating, and heating water. Moreover, the average American uses 6,278 gallons of water per year solely due to shower purposes. Assuming that the energy used for all water sources is being pumped from the U.S. electrical grid, the associated carbon dioxide emissions for pumping water would add up to 680,000 tons per year. This proves how big the carbon footprint of water is in the United States alone. In Africa, however, water is more mindfully distributed and carefully limited in use. In Africa, 85 % of the water consumed is used for agricultural purposes, 10 % for household purposes, and the remaining 5 % is used in industry. With this, the dangers of excess water usage may not be a problem for our project’s impacted area; however, it is important to consider. Moreover, the showers will be used intermittently by the teachers, meaning that water will be sparingly allocated.
When designing any product, the engineer has to take a great deal of consideration into the overall safety of the product. For this same reason, a lot of attention was placed on the current living conditions of the Maasai people as well as their wants and needs. It is commonplace in more rural areas of Kenya for individuals to heat up water for cooking and shower use via the flame produced from igniting pieces of wood. However, the exhaust gas that is produced in an effort to harness this energy is extremely toxic. These fumes can generate long-term negative health effects in individuals in the community. This takes the form of respiratory diseases like chronic respiratory obstructive disease, asthma, lung cancer, and many more which attack young children who are more susceptible to harm as their lungs are still in developing stages greatly reducing their life expectancies. The Sunny-Side Solutions solar water heating system is meant to replace these more harmful modes of heating water. It is also more environmentally friendly as it takes advantage of the sun’s solar energy to heat up water with minimal electrical and no gas power. Another health and safety factor to take into consideration is the location of the solar water heating system on the bathroom’s roof.
The final water heating shower solution that Sunny-Side Solutions built and tested was able to meet the customer needs to be outlined by Sabore’s Well. In addition, it was built in a manner that promoted the frugal nature of this project. The final system met the technical specifications that ensure the system will work for the Naretu Academy teachers as well as be a sustainable investment for any other future investors. Innovating a solution that would uniquely help Sabore’s Well was the ultimate goal of Sunny-Side Solutions, and an analysis of the final design proved that this goal was wholly met. Through the iterative process of designing and prototyping, the team was able to design an optimal solution to heat up water for the Maasai teachers. This solution’s main components are a 55 m long ½” irrigation tubing spiral, an insulated 100 L hot water tank, a circulation pump, and efficient connecting joints and tubing.
Although the team was unable to travel to Narok to implement and troubleshoot their design, an instruction manual and informational pamphlet were created to streamline the transition between Sunny-Side Solutions and Sabore’s Well. The team intends on having the system implemented, whether that be through teaching the locals or having another group carry on the project next year. Although this project met its goal, there are still various ways in which this system can be optimized, once system has been built at Naretu Academy. One long-term design consideration is scaling the system up to provide for more showers and more teachers. The current system only has one hot water tank and as such is only meant for one shower stall; however, Sabore’s Well has expressed the need for gender separation in the bathrooms as well as a plan for when the school expands and more teachers are housed on the campus. In order to accommodate the larger volume, the Sunny-Side Solutions solar collector can easily be scaled by adding another or multiple other irrigation tubing spirals. In addition to this, a thicker insulation cover would ensure that the system performs better and keeps the water at a higher temperature for a longer period of time. Insulation improvements may include switching out the plastic cover for a glass cover and adding insulating, foam, or another air-pocketed material, and sleeves for the exposed background tubing.
As a whole, this project allowed the team to develop a greater understanding of the engineering design process beginning with identifying customers’ needs, researching feasible market solutions, and eventually designing and building an effective and efficient water heating and shower system. From preliminary to final design, Sunny-Side Solutions was able to iterate and eventually finalize a solution that they hope will provide more communities with access to hot water and the comfort that comes with it.