vacuum tube collector

• 1st SMEThermal - Solar Thermal Materials, Equipment and Technology Conference, Berlin-

  The European solar thermal markets are growing at high rates altogether. During the last three years alone, the average annual growth rate finally settled at an impressive 35 % margin. And, dozens of new tanks and collector manufactures opened their doors in the last two years.
  
  This rapid increase in all areas of the solar thermal industry presents a big challenge for all of its market players – component manufacturers as well as suppliers of material and machinery.
  

• MTS: International Player from Italy- Solar thermal factory in Italy: Flat-plate collectors for the MTS Group’s business are produced at this new site in central Italy. Photo: MTS Group
  

• 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?

• USA Market Statistic: China as Biggest Collector Importer-

  About 200,000 m² of flat plate and vacuum tube collectors were shipped throughout the US-American market in 2008, according to the annual statistics of the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The annual report was published in January 2010, four months later than announced.
  Source: www.eia.doe.gov

• International Comparison of Warranty Periods granted by Collector Manufacturers-

  “How long is the warranty period of your flat plate or your vacuum tube collector?” This question was posed as part of a global solar thermal industry survey to 300 collector manufacturers from 40 different countries. Figure: solrico

• USA: Solar Heating and Vacuum Tube Collectors are catching up- The US-American domestic solar heating and cooling market grew by 31 % in 2007, after the rapid climb of 77 % in 2006. These are figures from the annual statistics of the Energy Information Administration (EIA), which publishes the official energy statistics of the U.S. Government. In total 150,000 m² of collector area was shipped last year (against 111,000 m² in 2006). The EIA assumes that only 2 % of the total shipment was exported last year; the home market volume was thus 147,000 m².
• India: Heat and Electricity Production Combined for the First Time-

  Collector for process heat: The troughs are connected mechanically through a tracking driver. Photo: SLTL

   

   

   

   

• Switzerland: Comprehensive Market Survey of Swissolar-

  2008 was a very good year for the solar thermal market in Switzerland: The figure shows the annually sold collector area of different technologies. Source: Swissolar market studies Solar Energy 2005 to 2007

• Teaching Solar Thermal System Design by Use of Simulation Software (2009)-

  Due to the growth in the solar thermal industry, there is significant need for training in solar thermal system design. This document goes over the usage of simulation software in education. It allows a trial and error approach and motivates the students to make near-to-reality experiences with good and bad heating systems.

• “There is an unbeatable Cost-Effectiveness“-

  Volker Kallwellis, head of development department at Wagner & Co Solartechnik, Cölbe, Germany published the following statement in the international magazine Sun & Wind Energy 7/2009 about the advantages of flat plate collectors. Photo: Wagner & Co

• China: Linuo Solar runs five Solar Glass Tubing Factories -

  The Chinese Linuo Solar Energy Group is the biggest solar tubing glass manufacturer worldwide – and is still growing at a fast rate: The group raised their production output by 70 % in 2008, produced 220,000 tons of borosilicate glass nationwide and sold the largest portion of it to the solar thermal industry. Photo: Linuo Solar

• “Security Measures Make Vacuum Tube Collector Systems More Expensive”-

  Marek Szymanski, technical department manager of the Polish collector manufacturer Watt, spoke with solarthermalworld.org about the problems they had with the vacuum tube collectors in the beginning. Photo: Watt

• “China is a Very Good Market for Flat Plate Collectors”-

  Solarthermalworld.org spoke with Jiao Qingtai, vice president of the Chinese collector manufacturer Sunrain Solar Energy Co., at the Intersolar in Munich at the end of May about the advantages and disadvantages of vacuum tube versus flat plate collectors. Photo: Bärbel Epp

• India: Vacuum Tube Collector on the Balcony-

  Horizontally installed vacuum tube collectors for flat owners and residents of high-rise apartments in India. Security standards for overhead mounted vacuum tubes have not yet been developed.

  Photo: Hykon