The employment of means for efficient use of water and energy are being increasingly incentivized, in relation to the sustainability of buildings. In Brazil, there is much concern regarding the difficulty of getting low-income segments of the population to adopt energy-saving technologies. This study provides guidelines for the inclusion of manufactured, low-cost solar water heaters (LCSWH) in low-income housing in combination with environmental education of this segment of the population. Therefore, a group of dwellings located in a low-income community in Campinas SP, Brazil, was selected for installation of LCSWHs, which were assembled and installed by the study population itself, who also participated in environmental awareness workshops. Particularly apparent in the results obtained, was a tendency to reduce energy consumption by using the LCSWH, attributable in part to behavioral changes from environmental awareness; and that the planning, application or organized systematization of knowledge is feasible in low-income housing, provided it is not promoted solely by dependency culture, since the objective is to provide an instrument for self-discovery, mobilization and participation by the population. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.361185191