best practices

This document, prepared by the New Zealand Solar Industry Association (SIA), is an example of a guide explaining how to obtain approval from a building consent authority for a solar thermal system installation.

This guide was done with the support of SWH suppliers, builders, homeowners’ agents and architects by explaining typical information needed for a SWH building consent application. It is meant to assist in preparing plans, specifications and general documentation needed for a building consent application.

This report was prepared on the framework of the Soltherm Project. It aims to provide recommendations and guidelines for any party (local authorities, energy utilities, consultants and energy agencies) involved or interested in market enlargement actions for solar heating products in Europe.

The document is based on experience and best practices from previous campaigns and market stimulation activities. It also included promotion and publicity opportunities for both demand and supply side.

This comprehensive report from 2010 reviews and assesses the building sector policies and regulations in India in the context of solar water heating (SWH) and needs to be seen in the context of the ambitious goal India set to reach 10 million m2 of installed SWH systems by 2012.

This study was commissioned by Central Energy Fund (CEF) to Palmer Development Consulting (PDC) and Synopsis to report to the South African public and private sector of the best practices for SWH technologies, warranty periods, pricing, and standards.

The methodology of the report consisted on a questionnaire sent to worldwide manufacturers inquiring about exports of SWH systems into South Africa. Results showed a similarity in the systems and technologies, when compared to national manufacturers, but a big difference in terms of prices was registered.

This 2008 guide from English Heritage (the UK Government's Adviser on the Historic Environment within England) looks into the small-scale generation of solar thermal energy. The emphasis of the document lies on the practicalities that need to be taken into account for the installation of the solar thermal collectors on a historic building. It lists the different aspects that have to be taken into consideration in the planning stage (i.e. orientation, shading, wildlife). The guide also sets out the different installation options.

This document is the sixth volume of the Building America Best Practices Series (from June 2007) and presents information useful throughout the United States for enhancing the energy-efficient practices in each of the specific climate zones.

It has research by the US Department of Energy and covers marketing solar systems, solar thermal technologies, photovoltaic technologies and site planning and orientation.

SOLARGE is a European co-operation project to open up markets for large collective solar thermal systems for multi-family buildings, hotels, public and social buildings. It is financed by the ALTENER 2005 Programme (European Commission). This document contains guidelines and examples of installed solar thermal systems for domestic and commercial applications

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This report provides an overview of the state of the art of measuring heat delivery in larger solar systems, looking also at the costs and accuracy of the measuring systems. The present document was produced within the framework of the Intelligent Energy- Europe project Key Issues for Renewable Heat in Europe (K4RES-H. The project looks at providing guidelines for best practice policies to support renewable heating and cooling (RES-H) technologies.