ARETHA (Air Exchange Thermal Assembly) is a sustainable, Arduino-based platform designed to produce hot water from the sun. Manufactured out of low-cost materials, ARETHA is a relatively easy project to assemble.
“Traditional photovoltaic or thermal solar panels are too expensive for most people in developing countries, especially in small and isolated villages, because of import and production high costs,” an ARETHA rep explained in a recent Indiegogo post.
“On the contrary, ARETHA panel can be made from local material: wood, wool, car radiators, transparent plastic panels or glass.”
ARETHA is controlled by an Atmel-based Arduino board, activating the system pump and fan when the temperature difference between air and water rises over a defined threshold.
More specifically, the board measures temperatures across various parts of the platform by means of various digital sensor chips. Meanwhile, a DataLogger Shield paired with an SD card saves relevant system information, which is then relayed by an Ethernet shield over the Internet for remote monitoring purposes.
Interested in learning more? You can check out Project ARETHA’s official Indiegogo page here.
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