IEA SHC

International Energy Agency’s Solar Heating and Cooling Programme

The IEA Solar Heating and Cooling (SHC) Programme has over 35 years of international collaborative work in the field of research, development, demonstration (RD&D) and test methods for solar thermal energy and solar buildings. The results of this work are available for researchers, policy makers, industry, utility and business representatives, builders, architects and teachers

The IEA SHC Programme is a member-based Programme with 20 member countries and 5 member organizations. Its mission is “To enhance collective knowledge and application of solar heating and cooling through international collaboration to fulfill its vision of solar thermal energy meeting 50% of low temperature heating and cooling demand by 2050."

Highlighted in the section below are some of our most recent publications:

July 12, 2016
Slovakia: Newest Member Country of IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme

Slovakia is the first country from Eastern Europe to join the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme (IEA SHC). Since its admission, the small nation of only 5.5 million people has been represented by Artur Bobovnický (photo) from the Slovak Innovation and Energy Agency (SIEA). Bobovnický...
June 27, 2016
China: Challenges and Opportunities of World’s Largest Solar Thermal Market

Reduced real estate investment has been the key reason for the strong decline of China’s solar thermal market. In 2015, the collector area installed annually was down to 43.5 million m² (30.5 GW_th), which almost put the figure back to the level of 2009, and the growth rates in...
June 25, 2016
German Energy Transformation Scenarios: Solar thermal As Optional, Not Mandatory Technology for Least Cost Solutions

How much will the transformation of the German energy industry cost if it is to reach greenhouse gas emissions reductions of at least 80 % by 2050? The German Institute Fraunhofer ISE used its Renewable Energy Model REMod-D for Germany 2050 to perform the simulations necessary to answer...
June 22, 2016
Australia: Good Funding for Solar Process Heat, but Little Trust by Industry

Australia’s energy policy has been in the international press mostly for its shift back toward coal under the former Prime Minister Tony Abbott. However, Jeremy Osborne, Director of Energy Analysis & Engineering, said in an interview...
June 15, 2016
Austria: Green Brewery Göss Receives IEA SHC Award

At the international conference Gleisdorf Solar in Austria, Austrian brewery Göss was presented with the SHC Solar Award, the "Oscar" of the solar heating and cooling industry. The IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme (IEA SHC) created this award to recognise outstanding achievements by...
June 6, 2016
IEA SHC Study Solar Heat Worldwide: Global View on Country Statistics

The recently launched report Solar Heat Worldwide 2016 offers a comprehensive overview of the global and national market development in the solar heating and cooling sector (see the attached document). On behalf of the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme (SHC), Austrian research...
May 28, 2016
IEA SHC: Levelised Cost of Heat and the Calculations behind It

The main objective of IEA SHC Task 52, Solar Thermal in Energy Supply Systems in Urban Environments, is to call attention to both the technical and economic aspects of solar heating and cooling usage in densely populated urban areas. Urban planners and commercial clients want to...
May 26, 2016
Austria: Award-Winning Energy Service Company Publishes ESCO Model Fact Sheets

Energy Service Companies (ESCO) have become pioneers in the development of financing and operating models for various energy sector customers. Every two years, the so-called Contracting Award highlights exemplary ESCO projects in Germany (“Contracting” is the German word for Energy...
May 18, 2016
IEA SHC Programme Scales up its International Research Network

The IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme (IEA SHC) broadens its sponsor network. The most recent members are the International Solar Energy Society (ISES), headquartered in Germany, and the Gulf Organisation for Research & Development (GORD) based in Qatar. ISES joined as a Sponsor...
May 13, 2016
Brussels: Travel Where Politics and Funding Meet

The organiser of the two day conference Solar Thermal Energy for Europe 2020 is inviting stakeholders from the industry and solar heating and cooling researchers to Brussels, Belgium, on 24 and 25 May to offer them first-hand information on Horizon 2020 calls, an exchange of ideas and...
May 2, 2016
IEA SHC TASK 51: “Integrate Energy Perspectives into Spatial Planning of Urban Areas”

During COP21 in Paris last December, 1,000 mayors and local leaders pledged themselves to a 100 % renewable future of their municipalities by 2050. The final declaration from 4 December 2015 reads (see the attached document): “We support ambitious long-term climate goals such as a...
April 30, 2016
IEA SHC: Industry Workshop in Spain Shows Solar Cooling’s Global Opportunities

The latest R&D developments in solar cooling presented during a workshop in Madrid, Spain, on 11 April sparked great interest among the attendees from the international air conditioning industry. Held at the headquarters of the Spanish Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving,...

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