From January 12 to 16, the Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre hosts a Luso-Brazilian meeting to align applied science in renewable energies and health with direct impact on everyday life. The agenda connects researchers, decision-makers, and the community, with in-person and online sessions focusing on replicable solutions by 2026.
| Short on time? Here’s the essential: ⚡ |
|---|
| ✅ January 12–16: round tables, presentation of papers, mini-courses, and technical visit 🗓️ |
| ✅ Cooperation Portugal–Bahia with UNEB, IFBA, UFBA, and Senai Cimatec for applied projects 🤝 |
| ✅ In-person and online format to democratize access to knowledge 💻🏫 |
| ✅ Announcement of the Mais Ciência Prize to fund research with results on the ground 🏅 |
Luso-Brazilian cooperation at the Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre: real impact on renewable energies and health
When science and territory meet, robust solutions emerge for persistent problems. The meeting “Social Technologies in Renewable Energies and Health” at the Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre aligns Portuguese and Bahian teams to transform good studies into tangible improvements, from the energy autonomy of health buildings to indoor air quality in homes. The choice of Portalegre reinforces the region’s vocation to test, adjust, and scale technology with feet on the ground.
On the Brazilian side, the presence of researchers from UNEB, IFBA, UFBA, and Senai Cimatec brings practical energy, accustomed to designing resilient solutions in hot and humid climates. On the Portuguese side, the Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre offers laboratories, multidisciplinary teams, and a regional network capable of implementing pilots in schools, health centers, and neighborhoods. International cooperation is not an end: it is a method to accelerate the adoption of technologies that have already proven value.
Why connect renewables and health? Because thermal comfort, adequate ventilation, and air quality reduce respiratory diseases, absenteeism, and energy costs. In 2026, with energy prices higher during peaks and demanding decarbonization targets, technical choices must be smart and socially just. The approach of social technologies combines engineering, public health, and participatory design, ensuring that the solution is born with and for the community.
What changes in practice for services and families
Imagine a rural health post with photovoltaics on the roof, a lithium-phosphate battery for nighttime support, and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery designed to renew the air without wasting energy. The result? Vaccines always refrigerated, more comfortable rooms, and fewer service interruptions. In residential neighborhoods, shading, bio-based insulation, automated blinds, and well-thought-out cross-ventilation reduce heat peaks and mold, improving sleep and productivity.
A key thread of the meeting is to demonstrate economic viability. In clinics and schools, combining PV + smart management reduces bills and protects sensitive equipment. In municipal buildings, energy performance contracts and circular public procurement enable rehabilitations without high initial investment. These pathways already exist; Luso-Brazilian cooperation refines the method and shares common pitfalls to avoid.
Illustrative case study
In a typical scenario discussed by the researchers, a basic health unit in a hot climate adopts external shading, efficient ceiling fans, 15 kWp PV, and programmable control of split AC loads. Temperatures drop by 2–3 ºC without an increase in thermal load, at a total cost 25–30% lower than that of an air conditioning expansion. The replication capacity is high, and maintenance is simple. It is this pragmatism that guides the round tables.
In summary, cooperation works when it measures results and learns quickly from the local context. And it is exactly this culture of prototyping and evaluation that Portalegre welcomes and projects.
Program for the meeting “Social Technologies in Renewable Energies and Health”: what will happen and how to take advantage
The program design was created for those who want to learn quickly and apply better. Between January 12 and 16, the Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre opens its doors – and also the streaming – for round tables, presentations of papers, mini-courses oriented to practice, and a technical visit to the facilities. The Mais Ciência Prize will take center stage with the announcement of the first funded projects, emphasizing results and impact.
Quick activity map
| Day 🗓️ | Activity 🔧 | Objective 🎯 | Format 🌐 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01/12 | Opening + Round table “Energy and Health” | Align priorities and impact metrics | In-person/Online 🖥️🏫 |
| 01/13 | Presentations of papers 🧪 | Share evidence and methodologies | Hybrid 🔁 |
| 01/14 | Practical mini-courses 🛠️ | Enable immediate application | In-person + streaming 🎥 |
| 01/15 | Technical visit to the campus 🔍 | Explore laboratories and pilots | In-person 👣 |
| 01/16 | Announcement of the Mais Ciência Prize 🏅 | Fund applied research | In-person/Online 🛰️ |
To get the most out of it, it’s worth preparing objectives. Those working in local administration can focus on hiring and monitoring models. Health professionals benefit from the blocks on ventilation and environmental comfort. Designers and installers take advantage of the mini-courses, which detail PV-batteries-HVAC integrations in existing buildings.
Organization tips for your agenda
- 📝 Define two key questions for each table: one technical and one implementation-related.
- 🔎 Take notes focusing on “what can I test in 90 days?” – speed is an ally.
- 🤝 Schedule 3 strategic contacts per day: one researcher, one public manager, one technician.
- 📊 Take photos of boards and flowcharts (with permission) to replicate processes in your team.
- 🌐 If online, use the chat to ask for examples and support files; do not be a passive spectator.
A simple metrics guide will also be presented to evaluate interventions: consumption per square meter, hours of thermal discomfort, CO₂ in the room, relative humidity, and downtime of critical equipment. With these indicators, each project tells an objective and comparable story.
By the end of the week, the announcement of the Mais Ciência Prize reinforces the culture of “proving on the ground.” Selected projects must share protocols and results, creating a repository that facilitates replication by other municipalities and institutions. It is open science with the ambition of scale.
Social technologies applied to sustainable housing and community health
Social technologies are, fundamentally, technologies with a community implementation manual. In a residential building, it is not enough to install panels: it is necessary to work on the surroundings, manage shading, and ensure efficient ventilation to eliminate humidity and mold – factors directly linked to asthma and allergies. In the meeting, this integrated vision is explored with comparative cases in the climates of Alentejo and Bahia, showing how to adapt solutions without increasing project costs.
Homes that breathe better
Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (or enthalpy in humid regions) reduces indoor carbon dioxide and stabilizes humidity. Combined with cork insulation, lime mortars, and external shading, it creates an envelope that controls solar gains and avoids pathologies. In the long term, less mold means less medication, fewer school absences, and greater comfort for everyone, from babies to the elderly.
There are also measurable energy gains. A renovated T2 apartment with low-consumption MVHR, improved airtightness, and automated blinds can reduce heating and cooling consumption by 30–50%. Meanwhile, a thermal solar kit for AQS reduces electrical peaks during dinner hours, easing the local grid and its bill. These are discreet but powerful changes.
Community at the center
A team from IFBA shares a prototype of “comfort brigades” in condominiums, training residents for simple readings: CO₂, humidity, temperature. With data visible in real-time, the conversation shifts from opinion to evidence. In Portalegre, municipal teams are testing something similar in schools, combining sensors, shading plans, and ventilation rules by room. The result is a low-cost operation with high social return.
A hypothetical case used in the workshops: the “Laranjeira Building,” from the 90s, faces seasonal mold. The pilot intervention includes controlled exhaustion in kitchens, hygroscopic grills, repair of thermal bridges with cork panels, and a small PV installation with micro-inverters. In three months, humidity levels drop below 60% and recurrent stains disappear. Health benefits; energy too.
For those designing, the message is clear: well-designed construction details are as valuable as installed power. And for those living there, small gestures – such as ventilating correctly and avoiding drying clothes in spaces without extraction – consolidate the technical result. When community and technique walk together, the building becomes a health ally.
In practice, what remains? A replicable method that prioritizes comfort, health, and total life cycle cost. With this, each family sees results that matter – and each municipality gains arguments to scale.
How citizens and professionals can participate: training, mobility, and pilot projects
The democratization of knowledge is one of the pillars of the meeting. Therefore, everything has been designed to make your participation simple, whether you are in Portalegre or joining online. Registration for hybrid sessions opens access to materials, recordings, and work sheets focused on implementation. Moreover, the Luso-Brazilian network supports short-term exchanges and mentoring, uniting those who want to act with those who have already done so.
Three immediate pathways to take action
- 🚀 Register for the mini-courses and choose a real challenge from your building to bring to the lab practices.
- 🔄 Join the sharing community: present a microcase (even a simple one) and collect applicable feedback.
- 📌 Apply for local pilots, coordinating a school, health center, or neighborhood with the network of researchers.
Public managers can leverage the agenda to understand performance contracts, purchases with circularity criteria, and post-work verification metrics. For technical teams, the blocks on integrating PV + batteries + HVAC bring commissioning sequences, wiring diagrams, control strategies, and preventive maintenance. Health professionals find ventilation and circadian lighting protocols to improve clinical routines and patient rest.
Academic mobility closes the triangle. Short internships between Portalegre and Bahia accelerate learning in climate, materials, and operation. A Portuguese technician in a Salvador hospital learns humidity management during the rainy season; a Bahian researcher in Portalegre tests insulation and shading strategies for continental heat waves. This exchange generates useful comparative catalogs for any municipality.
To better prepare, explore reference materials in clear Portuguese, such as practical dossiers on efficiency, natural materials, and thermal comfort at Ecopassivehouses.pt. Combine readings with the sessions of the meeting and create your personal lesson plan, with steps of 30, 60, and 90 days. The goal is simple: turn inspiration into accomplished work.
Whatever your starting point, define a small pilot: a classroom, a consultation, a T2. Measure, intervene, measure again. This validated prototyping culture is the same that guides the Mais Ciência Prize and tends to attract more partners and funding. Results generate traction; traction generates scale.
From the campus to the territory: replication Portugal–Bahia and the next 12 months
A good idea is worth what its impact is outside the laboratory. The meeting in Portalegre has a horizon of 12 months to trigger replicas in schools, health posts, and condominiums, from Alentejo to Recôncavo Baiano. In 2026, the best cost-effective solutions are those that combine efficiency, renewables, and smart management in simple language – and with maintenance within reach of local teams.
Practical roadmap for scalability
First, select quick-execution pilots with baseline evaluation: consumption, CO₂, humidity, hours of thermal discomfort, and user satisfaction. Then, phased intervention: low-cost passive measures (shading, infiltration control), behavioral adjustments, and finally, active systems (PV, MVHR, control). Finally, independent verification of results and public sharing of data. This cycle builds trust and reduces the risk of poor decisions.
On the health side, there are expected gains: waiting rooms with better ventilation, quieter rooms, and circadian lighting supporting biological rhythms. At home, less mold and fewer heat peaks mean fewer headaches and more good nights sleep. This is how energy – when well used – becomes an ally of well-being.
Partnerships are the mortar of this construction. Municipalities, universities, health centers, and resident associations form the chain that keeps interventions alive. The collective experience Portugal–Bahia accelerates fine-tuning: retractable shades here, reinforced exhaust there, bio-based materials where it makes sense. There is no silver bullet; there is intelligent combination, validated by measurement.
The Mais Ciência Prize enters as a catalyst, funding teams that accept the challenge of proving impact with transparency. Supported projects commit to providing specifications, detail sheets, and performance reports. This ethics of openness multiplies the quality of public and private decisions because any team can learn from real experiences, not empty promises.
In the end, what remains is an active network and a library of replicable cases. If you want to bring the conversation to your reality, start with a room or a small building, involve users, and monitor simple data. Transformation is born from what is small, consistent, and well measured – and the meeting in Portalegre was designed to help you take that first step with confidence.
Source: sapo.pt
