College Students Look to Bring Solar Heating to Third World
In spring 2007, a group of college students received a first-hand look at life in the third-world nation of Guatemala. However, unlike many visiting such regions, they didn't look to just observe or help out on a small scale; they looked for ways to revolutionize the energy infrastructure of the region.
While electronics are far scarcer among the impoverished residents than in the U.S., one major energy need is heat to warm water. The group of University of California Berkeley Energy and Resources Group devised a solar water heater that was cheap, simple, easy to maintain, and could be put to use in low-income housing. The group plans to begin marketing their design to local residents soon.
The project began in Berkley professor Ashok Gadgil's Design for Sustainable Communities class. The students were tasked with developing an economical water heater and they hurriedly set to work. Now, only a year later, the prototypes are complete and units have been installed in several low-income apartments in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.
