IEA

• Solar Heating and Cooling in Austria - Status Report (2009)-

  This report - presented to the International Energy Agency Solar Heating and Cooling Programme in 2009 - gives an overview of the solar heating and cooling industry in Austria.

  This includes an outline of the national and European regulatory environment, and the research programmes used to further technological development in the sector. Austrian public expenditure for energy research is specified as €31,886,023 in 2007, of which €826,852 was directed towards solar heating and cooling.

• France: Support Scheme for up to 30 Solar Heating and Cooling Systems-

  One of the successful show cases of solar cooling applications in France: The vinery in Banyuls, in the south of France, where 130 m² of vacuum tube collectors supply an absorption chiller with 52 kW cooling capacity since 1991.
  Photo: Tecsol

• Paolo Frankl Speaks About IEA's 2012 Solar Heating and Cooling Roadmap -

  This is an interview with Paolo Frankl from IEA made during the ESTEC 2011 conference in Marseille. Paolo explains that IEA is paying more attention to heating and its contribution to consumption. The IEA will release by spring 2012 a solar heating and cooling roadmap. Solar energy in the heating sector is expected to increase significantly. The main drivers to this increase are the environmental concerns (CO2 reductions), but also energy security.

• Performance Analysis of a Solar Heating System Coupled to a Heat Pump for Building Renovation Purposes (2009)-

  The paper was presented by Mr. Jacques Bony and Mr. Stéphane Citherlet from the Laboratory of Solar Energetics and Buildings Physics (Switzerland) in the framework of Task 44 of the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme. It presents the energy and economic performances of facilities coupling heat pumps with air heater equipped with solar thermal collectors. The study was done employing a TRNSYS-type dynamic simulation.

• Unglazed Solar Collectors in Heat Pump Systems: Measurement, Simulation and Dimensioning-

  This is a paper presented by a group of German researchers during EUROSUN 2008 International Congress on Heating, Cooling and Buildings held in Lisbon, Portugal. Addressing the use of heat pump systems with boreholes together with solar thermal collectors, their project - „Unglazed Solar Collectors in Heat Pump Systems: System Concept and Dimensioning” – is linked with Task 44 of the International Energy Agency’s Solar Heating and Cooling Programme.

• Overview on Solar Thermal Plus Heat Pumps Systems and Review of Monitoring Results (2011)-

  The target of the present paper is to give an overview on commercially available Solar Thermal and Heat Pump Systems (SAHPS) and a review on available monitoring results of these integrated systems. It is the fruit of the research of German, Italian and Austrian specialists in the framework of IEA’s Solar Heating and Cooling Programme.

• On the Potential of Using Heat from Solar Thermal Collectors for Heat Pump Evacuators (2011)-

  This is a study presented by members of the Swiss Institut für Solartechnik during the ISES Solar Word Congress held in Kassel, Germany (28 August - 2 September 2011). Part of the IEA SHC Task 44, the paper researches the benefits and performances of using heat from solar collectors for the evaporator of the heat pump instead of using the heat directly.

• Description of Simulation Tools used in Solar Cooling (2009)-

  This technical report is a deliverable of Task 38, Subtask C within the framework of the International Energy Agency’s Solar Heating and Cooling Programme. It describes both existing and developing simulation tools and models used for solar cooling applications.

• Solar Heat Worldwide. Markets and Contribution to the Energy Supply (2011)-

  This report was prepared within the framework of the Solar Heating and Cooling Programme (SHC) of the International Energy Agency (IEA) as an update of the one issued in 2009. The report documents the solar thermal capacity installed in the important markets worldwide and its contribution in terms of supply of energy and CO2 emissions reduction. Documented collectors comprise unglazed collectors, glazed flat-plate and evacuated tube collectors with water as the energy carrier, as well as glazed and unglazed air collectors.

• The Potential of Solar Thermal Technologies in a Sustainable Energy Future (2010)-

  This study is a deliverable of the IEA Solar Heating & Cooling Programme. Based on the previous studies and results from international R&D cooperation, the declared goal is to present the opportunities linked to solar thermal technologies given their positioning as the fourth largest renewable source of energy.

• Estec 2011: “We need incentive tariffs for solar thermal”-

  The crisis in the European key countries was present during the entire 5th European Solar Thermal Energy Conference (ESTEC) in Marseilles on 20 and 21 October 2011. Around 300 speakers and participants tried to deliver new ideas and concepts to get the industry back on track. At the second conference day, "plug and flow", "solar active houses", "fixed prices for end consumers" and "solar incentive tariffs" were among the key issues of a round-table discussion, which was moderated by Uwe Trenkner, a consultant based in Brussels (third from left).
  Photo: ESTIF/ Joël Assuied

• USA: First SHC conference to take place in San Francisco next July-

  The Solar Heating and Cooling Programme of the International Energy Agency (IEA SHC) is planning to start its own annual conference in 2012. The conference name SHC has been chosen in reference to the long-established research programme IEA SHC. The full name is International Conference on Solar Heating and Cooling for Buildings and Industry. The 1^st SHC will take place in San Francisco from 9 to 11 July 2012 – in cooperation with the Intersolar North America (10 to 12 July 2012).

• IEA Study "Solar Heat Worldwide": Global Market Growth of 22 % in 2006-

  2006 was an extremely satisfying year for the global solar thermal industry. According to the new study “Solar Heat Worldwide. Markets and contribution to the Energy Supply 2006” on behalf of IEA Solar Heating & Cooling Programme the new installations grew 22 % in 2006. The authors from the Austrian research institute AEE Intec surveyed 48 countries and added up the newly installed collector area to 18.3 GWth (26.1 million m2).

• Denmark: Solar District Heating Capacity increases 5-fold -

  Solar heat is penetrating Denmark’s district heating networks at an unprecedented rate: Around 90,000m² of collector area (63 MW_th) are going to be connected to the country’s networks in 2011. The map shows the existing and planned solar district heating systems in Denmark, including the installed or planned collector area. The Danish consulting and engineering company PlanEnergi was responsible of drafting the map in the framework of Task 45 “Large Solar Heating/Cooling Systems, Seasonal Storage, Heat Pumps”. The task was started in January 2011 by the International Energy Agency’s Solar Heating and Cooling Programme (IEA SHC), which will run until December 2013.
  Source: PlanEnergi

• 2001 Annual Report: IEA Solar Heating & Cooling Programme (2001)-

  This report issued by the International Energy Agency (IEA), gives a detailed overview of the policies in place at that time regarding the R&D and integration policies of solar thermal products for the buildings sector.

• New IEA Task for Solar Process Heat-

  At their meeting in June, the Executive Committee (ExCo) of the International Energy Agency (IEA) gave green light to a new task for solar process heat. The IEA-SHC (Solar Heating and Cooling) Task 49 – “Solar Process Heat for Production and Advanced Applications“ - will start in January 2012 and run for four years. The now rough outline of the task will be further specified in a second “Task Definition Meeting“ at the Solar World Congress in Kassel, Germany, on 2 September 2011. Task participants will then take the suggestions made by the ExCo to spell out the activities for solar process heat in more detail.

• Advanced Storage of Solar Thermal Energy for Low Energy Housing-

  Countries like Germany, Switzerland and France are registering an increasing interest in low energy houses, mainly single family houses (40-45 kWh/m2 per year for space heating) combined with solar heat production.

• Renewable Energy Essentials: Concentrating Solar Thermal Power (2010)-

  This document was created by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in 2010. It explains the background and basics of concentrating solar thermal power (CSP), and has an introduction explaining the current market status and trends.

  It discusses the economics of CSP, including generation costs, investment costs and displays it by how much it costs per Watt to create state-of-the-art trough plants. It gives an outlook for growth, as well as barriers.

• USA: Second Workshop for Solar Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration-

  The 2nd Workshop for Solar Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration, taking place in Las Vegas on 2 February, will bring together top experts from Europe and North America - among them Christian Holter, SOLID (Austria), Steve Hunter, Vanir Energy (California/US), Daniel Mugnier, TECSOL (France), and Tom Lopp, Power Partners, Athens (Georgia/US).

• Solar Cooling: 20 Questions assess Project Success Rate -

  Can a solar cooling system be integrated in my building or my industrial processes? Answering this question with a simple Yes or No is not as easy as it seems. If a solar cooling system turns out to be a feasible investment largely depends on the parameters of the existing heating and cooling system, required temperatures, cooling times, and regional fossil fuel and electricity prices. To see if a solar cooling installation will be a good choice, French engineering company Tecsol is now offering a free-of-charge, online check list on its website: http://www.tecsol.fr/checklist/
  
  

• Renewables for Heating and Cooling (2007)- This document, prepared by the International Energy Agency, comes as a follow-up of the 2006 seminar “Renewable heating and cooling – from RD&D to deployment technology and policy” aimed at exploring guidelines and policy initiatives to boost technology development and market deployment for renewable heating and cooling (REHC).
• Is solar thermal technology still a niche market?-

  There are a number of mature markets like Israel, Austria, Barbados, China or Cyprus where solar thermal is used by a wide majority of people for heating the domestic hot water and sometimes for room heating.
  

• Eurosun 2008: Decision for Solar Thermal-

  Eurosun 2008 took place in Lisbon from 7^th to 10^th of October. Photo: Joachim Berner

• IEA Solar Heating And Cooling Programme Task 32: Advanced Storage Concepts For Solar And Low Energy Buildings (2006)-

  This report from the IEA (2006) analyses the various storage options storing thermal energy in systems providing heating or cooling for buildings.

  The analysis runs along four lines of comparison between the various solutions:

  1. Evaluation and Dissemination (creation of common comparative approach)
  2. Chemical and Sorption Storage
  3. Phase Change Materials Storage
  4. Water Storage

  Of the conclusions reached, the most significanat are that :

  - PCM combined with water is at present the most promising option

• Barriers to Technology Diffusion: the Case of Solar Thermal Technologies (2006)-

  This joint paper from the OECD and IEA (October 2006) looks into the different barriers that exist which prevent solar thermal technologies to deliver its real potential. Next to listing the barriers, the document also looks into means to overcome these, the existing technologies & markets and identifies best practices which can be used by policy makers in both industrialised and developing countries.

  Three barriers to diffusion are analysed in more detail:

  (1) Technical barriers,

  (2) Economic barriers and

• The Present and Future Use of Solar Thermal Energy as a Primary Source of Energy (2005)-

  This document from the International Energy Agency (2005) covers all aspects of solar thermal energy Different solar thermal technologies covered includes passive solar architecture; solar cooling; district heating; concentrating solar troughs, towers, and dishes; the solar thermal market.

  It discusses the current market and policies, as well as worldwide potential of solar thermal energy for the future.

  The paper was written by Cédric Philibert.

• Task 43: Worldwide Harmonisation of Solar Rating and Certification Procedures -

  The international harmonisation of norms is advancing: On behalf of operating agent Jan Erik Nielsen from Plan Energi, experts are working on the alignment of EN and ISO norms under Task 43 of the Solar Heating & Cooling Programme managed by the International Energy Agency.
  Photo: ITW

• Intersolar Europe Conference 2010: 24 Speakers from 9 different Countries-

  

  Solar thermal professionals from all over the world will once again gather in Munich, Germany, to attend the international solar trade fair Intersolar 2010, which has just recently been renamed to Intersolar Europe. Its German organizer, the Solar Promotion GmbH, announced record-breaking registration figures of 1,700 exhibitors and 60,000 visitors.

• Process Heat: the Solar Thermal Challenge of the Future-

  So far solar thermal technology is mostly used for domestic hot water, pool heating and room heating. It´s often forgotten that there is a huge demand for heat below 250 °C in industry, which can easily be reached with solar thermal collectors.

  An international team of researchers working on behalf of the International Energy Agency estimated the realisable potential of solar process heat in the European Union at 100 GW_th, which corresponds to 140 million m² of collector area. T

  Today, however, a solar thermal capacity of only 13.5 GW_th is in operation across Europe. Task 33 of the International Energy Agency reported 85 solar process heat plants worldwide with a capacity of 27 MWth. However, this market segment seems to be waking up. Just recently, news about huge solar process heat installations did the rounds. There is the 13,000 m² plant in Hangzhou, China, on the roof of the textile dyeing factory Daly Ltd., which is most probably the biggest installation for solar process heat in the world. The total investment adds up to RMB 12 million (€ 1.11 million) including the tanks and mounting system. According to the project developer, the Chinese company Shenzhen Quir Solar Technology Co., Ltd, the solar collectors will save RMB 3.38 million (€ 0.31 million) per year, so that the investment will pay off within 3 years. The hot water is provided at a low temperature of 55 °C. Secondly, this summer the German brewery Hofmühl GmbH in Eichstätt will start operating a pilot plant with 1,389 m² of vacuum tube collectors, which will supply process heat between 90 and 140 °C to the brewing and cleaning processes. The owner of the system estimates a reduction of 20 % in the annual energy demand of the factory. The company is convinced that the investment will pay off and has plans for subsequent upsizing to 3,000 m². The project is being subsidised by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.

  What are the main topics for the future to open this new market sector?

• Solar Thermal Collector Market in IEA Member Countries (2002)-

  This was a study prepared by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in 2002. The study documented the collector areas previously installed in the 22 IEA member countries and to identify the contribution of solar plants to the supply of energy and how it cut down on CO2 emissions. It has all the member countries listed with the total collector area, for different types of solar thermal systems, with energy savings equivalent.

• Renewable Energies Essentials: Solar Heating and Cooling (2009)-

  This short document, produced by the International Energy Agency, provides a summary of the solar heating and cooling situation in 2009.

  The document is divided in different sections: market status; economics; outlook; system related aspects; environmental impact; technology status development; which touch upon different issues ranging from the installed capacity, to solar resources of different countries, drivers and barriers for growth, etc.

   

• Solar Energy Activities in IEA Countries 2005 - This 2005 report on solar energy activities in IEA (International Energy Agency) Solar Heating and Cooling Programme (SHC) countries provides an overview of national activities and key trends of a total of 13 countries. Detailed information is offered on national solar activities, notably on the status of government policies, funding levels, R&D, technology advances, and commercial development. Each report further concludes with an outlook for solar over the next five years in that country.
• IEA-SHC 43: On the Way to Harmonize Testing and Certification-

  At the request of the US Solar Rating & Certification Corporation (SRCC), the International Energy Agency’s Solar Heating and Cooling Programme (SHC) formed Task 43, the “Solar Rating and Certification Procedure”.
  Photo: IEA SHC

• Solar Heating Worldwide (2005)- This report from 2005, published by Solar Heating and Cooling Programme (SHC) of the International Energy Agency (IEA) relates the solar thermal capacity previously installed in important markets worldwide. It further reports the contribution of solar plants to the supply of energy and the CO2 emissions reduction, resulting from operating these plants.
• NEGST - New Generation of Solar Thermal Systems Project- The NEGST project, in place from 2004 to 2007, was created to introduce more cost-effective solar thermal systems, especially for domestic hot water preparation and / or space heating, in the European market, with a view to achieve the EU’s goals in terms of CO2 emissions reductions and boost the use of renewable energies.
• Solar Heat Used Rarely in Industrial Processes- If solar heat likes to gain more importance in the future, it should not ignore the industrial sector. Task 33 of the International Energy Agency's (IEA) Solar Heating & Cooling programme performed an analysis of industrial energy needs and looked for the potential of solar heat within the sector. The Task’s scientists found a huge potential for energy from the sun. The industrial sector makes up about 28 % of total primary energy consumption in the European Union. A significant share of the heat used in industrial processes is used at low or medium temperatures.
• Solar Thermal Energy - Solar “thermal” energy designate all technologies that collect solar rays and transform their energy into usable heat, either for directly satisfying heating needs (notably space heating, water heating – and space cooling) or for producing electricity and fuels. The latter includes concentrating solar power technologies, and other concepts such as solar updraft towers and ocean thermal energy. This paper thus considers all direct forms of solar energy except photovoltaic, assessing resource potential, technology status, and supporting policies.
• Australia: Sunny Days in a Sunny Country-

  Australia is pushing solar: The solar water heater market profit from the banning of electric water heaters in new homes. Photo: Rheem
  

• Mechanical Equipment & Control Strategies for a Chilled water and a Hot water system (2008)-

  This report from 2008 falls within the framework of the Internal Energy Agency’s Solar Heating and Cooling Programme.

  The objective of this report is to undertake pre-normative research to develop a comprehensive and integrated suite of building energy analysis tool tests involving analytical, comparative, and empirical methods.

  These methods will provide for quality assurance of software some of which will be enacted in specific standards to be used for certifying software used for showing compliance to building energy standards.

• Austria: Professor Faninger Receives Decoration for his 30 Years of Solar Research- Pioneer of renewable energies in Austria: Professor Gerhard Faninger from the University of Klagenfurt received the Grand Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria. Photo: Bärbel Epp
  

• Solar Heating Systems for Houses (2003)-

  This book from 2003 presents the collaborative work of international experts from research, industry and academia in the IEA solar heating and cooling programme's Task 26, Solar Combisystems

  The book details methods for analysing and optimising combisystems for different house types and introduces standardised classification and evaluation processes and design tools for these systems. Furthermore the book addresses the need for guidelines in selecting and designing the appropriate system according to the specific needs of the building and the local environment.

• Webinar: Compact Heat Storage- Recording and Slides-

  Date: Friday, January 23rd 2009 - 15:00 - Central European Time (Brussels)
  Duration: 1 hour Moderator: S Ferreira
  Title: Compact Thermal Energy Storage
  Technologies: Status, Applications and Developments
  Speaker: Wim van Helden (ECN)

   

• Process Heat Collectors - State of the Art within Task 33/IV-

  This document provides an overview into the types of process heat technology describing the technology in easy-to-understand terms, and provides information on their stage in development.

  Technologies covered are:

  Advanced Flat-plate Collectors
  Evacuated Tube Collectors
  CPC Collectors
  Parabolic Trough Collectors
  Linear Concentrating Fresnel Collectors
  Concentrating Collectors with Stationary Reflector

  The second section of the document provides an overview of installations and their operation.