Using the sun's heat to provide homes in Egypt with warm water

In a report for Inventing Tomorrow, CNN explores how Egyptian company Shamsina is designing and producing affordable water heaters that only use the power of the sun.

Egyptian sisters Sarah and Deena Mousa have created the innovative heater as a solution to numerous households in Cairo lacking access to a modern water heater. “Cold water enters the storage unit from a source of water in the building. The panel itself is insulated to trap the energy of the sun, and it re-enters the storage unit as hot water,” they explain.

These heaters cost two hundred dollars to make and do not have extra fees once they’re running, making them an accessible alternative to modern heaters. “Affordability and accessibility is at the core of what Shamsina does and our mission. We strive to ensure that the families that we work with are able to afford it through whatever means we can,” the company’s founders state.

“Seeing these heaters actually installed and running and families making use of them, we feel incredibly hopeful and optimistic about the future,” the Mousa sisters tell CNN.