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The initiative is the result of an agreement between Eternit and the NGO Revolusolar. It is a solution that can generate monthly savings of 200 reais ($38.5) on electricity bills.
A house in the Babilônia community, in Rio de Janeiro, has just received the first photovoltaic roof installed in a favela. In association with the NGO Revolusolar, Eternit - a company in the construction materials sector, especially in the roofing segment - donated a series of elements for the construction of the solar roof. There were 12 Eternit Solar photovoltaic tiles, Eterfoil (thermal blanket under the roof), ridge caps, tiles, labor for installation and technical advice on how to complete the roof.
Launched in the first half of 2023 by the group, the solution came to the market with the perspective of democratizing access to renewable energy, as it is compatible with the well-known corrugated fiber cement tiles. With a monthly energy generation estimated at 200 kWh/month and a power of 1.72 kWp, the savings on the electricity bill could reach between 150 and 200 reais per month in low-income homes, such as the one selected in the community. In these cases, the expected return on investment can be up to five years.
“Solar energy is a revolutionary solution that the Brazilian public is increasingly adopting. “It is a technology that has a high market potential and will benefit a larger part of the population due to its more accessible cost,” highlights the president of Eternit, Roberto de Oliveira Andrade, adding that the company is already studying other pilots in communities. .
The photovoltaic system installed in the Babilônia house, which houses an elderly couple, was connected to the public electricity distribution network. The tiles are designed to integrate perfectly into new or pre-existing roofs, without the need for major modifications to the structure, since the weight of the tile remains practically the same with the photovoltaic cells applied. “We only made some adaptations to the house to regularize the construction and make it more thermally comfortable,” explains the supervisor of the photovoltaic project, Fábio Filho.
The initiative arises amid the growth of photovoltaic energy in the country. With two gigawatts (GW) of solar energy added this year alone, Brazil has surpassed the mark of 39 gigawatts (GW) of photovoltaic power installed since 2012, including large-scale plants and distributed generation (rooftops, facades and small plots of land). , according to the Brazilian Photovoltaic Solar Energy Association (Absolar).
Brazilian technology
Eternit Solar can be used in small businesses, agricultural sheds, cattle, pig and poultry feedlots and buildings without apparent roofs. The technology is part of the line of photovoltaic products that Eternit has been developing, whose first launch on the market was the Tégula Solar concrete tile, which the company will market starting in August 2021.
Both lines use a manufacturing process that allows the solar energy collection module to be integrated into the tiles, achieving excellent performance even at high temperatures. For this innovation, Eternit received a green patent from the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), having the exclusive right to commercially exploit the technology in Brazil. |
