IEA SHC

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.

At the end of September 2011, the founder and President of Himin Solar Energy, one of the largest solar thermal manufacturers in China was honoured with the Right Livelihood Award. The Swedish Right Livelihood Award Foundation praised Huang Ming “for his outstanding success in the development and mass-deployment of cutting-edge technologies for harnessing solar energy”. According to the International Energy Agency's Solar Heating and Cooling Programme (IEA SHC), this is the first time a Right Livelihood Award goes to China. The photo shows Ming presenting the huge solar installation above the roof of International Exhibition Centre in Dezhou, Shandong province, which hosted the 4th International Solar Cities Congress in September 2010.
Photo: Sven Tetzlaff

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.

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

If solar energy is to be the primary or only source of heat for houses in the future, there will arise a need for storing it more efficiently. Materials have to be found that are able to hold more energy than water, but with less volume and higher loss. Task 32 of the International Energy Agency's (IEA) Solar & Cooling programme was working on this issue. The scientists presented their results at the Eurosun 2008 in Lisbon, at the beginning of October.

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.

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

In the past, the installed base of solar thermal systems was measured in terms of collector area (square meters or square feet) rather than in terms of installed capacity to produce heat.