Domestic Hot Water and Heating

This report is a deliverable of the “Global Solar Water Heating Market Transformation and Strengthening Initiative”, jointly funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)and the International Copper Association. In Latin America the commitment for SWH deployment has been supported by the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE).

This report was written by the Kotzebue Electric Association (KEA), which helps provide electricity to the indigenous NANA Region of Kotzebue, Alaska. It reports on test efforts at installing solar thermal heating systems in a number of homes in Alaska that were in need of home heating assistance.

The Indian state of Rajasthan has strongly supported the market for solar thermal technology. Since 2004, the state in the northwest of India has had a comprehensive mandatory law for solar water heaters: Solar energy use has been an essential requirement in setting up new hospitals, sports complexes, swimming pools, hostels, barracks, hotels, industrial buildings in which hot water is needed to process the goods, as well as public buildings and residential buildings with a plot size of 500 m² and above. In 2011, the state government has also granted an indirect subsidy to residential users of Solar Water Heaters (SWH). Having come into force three months ago, the scheme allows every SWH user to receive a rebate on its electricity bill of INR 0.25 INR/kWh of electricity, capped at a maximum of INR 300 per month – independent of the age of the system.
Photo courtesy: Jaideep Malaviya

This case study was written by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. It focuses on the city of Belo Horizonte, which is the capital of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, and recaps their experience in passing a solar thermal hot water heating system mandate for their city.

This report was compiled by Manaar Zuhurudeen, a Research Assistant at The Saylor Foundation, and posted on Saylor’s website as part of their efforts to support online higher education for free. It supplies and covers the essential information on how the different types of solar thermal water heating technologies.

An organisation to support solar energy in Argentina is the Solar City Network (Red de Ciudades Solares), which places the emphasis on solar water heating. Part of their work consists of non-commercial conferences and exhibitions, which take place in various cities across the country. The latest event supported by the Solar City Network took place in Mendoza in November 2011 and attracted more than 600 visitors. Local media even spoke about 1,000 people visiting the Mendoza Solar.
Photo: National University of Cuyo

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.

In May 2011, the Bulgarian government published its new Renewable Energy Act, with considerably less favourable conditions for investors in wind farm and photovoltaic projects. However, it removed some hurdles for installing solar collector systems on residential housing by eliminating construction permits for solar water heater installations. Solarthermalworld.org has asked some solar thermal system providers if this new requirement supported market development. The photo shows a solar thermal installation in the village of Lozen in the south-west of Bulgaria.
Photo: Frank Stier

This presentation was written by Harvey Bowers of the Alaska Center for Appropriate Technology (ACAT). It provides information on solar thermal water heating in cold climates and uses a case study and examples from installations in Alaska to demonstrate how solar thermal can be effective in similar settings.

This presentation was delivered during the UNEP (United National Environment Programme) Regional Workshop jointly held with OLADE (the Latin American Energy Organization) in Chile (June 2011) in the framework of the Solar Water Heating Transformation and Strengthening Initiative. Its author is Mr. Luis Manzano from the Ecuadorian government.