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:
„We need to ensure thermosiphon systems fit the needs of today’s customer”
IEA SHC Task 69 on Solar Hot Water for 2030 brings together the expertise of solar water heating technology experts in Africa and Asia Pacific. Typical failure modes and relevant quality and testing methods were discussed in detail with Chinese industry representatives during a Solar Academy session in China in …
National Day shines light on future potential and market realities
At the German National Day at the beginning of November entitled “Solar Technology for the Future”, the heat experts clearly pointed out the huge gap that currently exists between long-term potential studies and the actual market development of solar heat technologies. They made clear and precise demands to policy makers …
Technology Radar for Solar Energy Buildings
Buildings with a high solar fraction require a good mix of technologies and energy efficiency measures. The scientists of IEA SHC Task 66 on Solar Energy Buildings have analysed 150 such buildings and identified and listed the new and innovative elements. The Technology Radar for Solar Energy Buildings contains over …
22 inspiring solar neighborhoods depicted on a map
Urban surfaces play a major role in enhancing sustainability and climate resilience of neighborhoods. They offer opportunities not only for producing renewable energies and correctly managing passive solar gains and daylight, but also for greening and cooling the neighborhood. The researchers of IEA SHC Task 63 on Solar Neighborhood Planning …
Standardization and adaption of solar cooling kits for sunbelt regions
The future markets for solar thermal cooling systems are in the global south. The IEA study The Future of Cooling predicts that by 2050 37 % of total electricity demand growth will be for air conditioning. Solar thermal cooling systems have two major advantages. They consume up to a factor …
EuroSun 2024: “Extremely good and optimistic atmosphere”
EuroSun in Cyprus attracted around 200 visitors from over 40 countries. They all recognized that solar heat technologies are an important pillar of the energy supply on this island. 92 % of the houses, 53 % of the hotels and a considerable number of industrial companies use solar heat. “Solar …
Technical and efficiency-orientated comparison of solar collectors for district heating
A large number of different collector types are available for planners to integrate into district heating systems. A recent report by the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme titled Solar Collector Technologies for District Heating analyses and compares stationary and tracking collector types in terms of geometry, efficiency and costs …
Poland becomes 20th member country of IEA SHC
The addition of Poland will extend the circle of member countries and organizations of the IEA SHC programme. Currently 19 countries (marked in red) and 8 international organizations (marked in orange) representing Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean are IEA SHC members. We spoke with Justyna Martyniuk-Pęczek, Associate Professor …
IEA SHC: Broadening the range of research topics and the membership base
The IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme has strengthened its worldwide presence and broadened its range of research topics. During its Executive Committee meeting in Norway in June 2023 it welcomed Poland as a new member. Poland was among the top five countries in terms of new solar installations in …
Solar Heat Worldwide: two more new world’s largest solar heat plants
Solar heat is a versatile technology that now provides heating services to 122 million customers worldwide. The just published Solar Heat Worldwide study, edition 2024, contains the latest data on all the relevant applications – residential water heating, district heating, process heat, cooling and drying. Two dynamically growing technologies – …
Market and technology trends in the global PVT sector
Europe is the leading region worldwide for PVT technology. Of the global 1.6 million m2 of PVT collectors in operation, 64 % are installed in Europe. The leading countries are France, Germany and the Netherlands. The largest PVT markets outside Europe in terms of capacity in operation are South Korea, …
Fine-tuning phase change materials
Compact thermal energy storage can be achieved with a large number of materials. To reduce costs, a high energy density of the storage material at optimal temperatures is desirable. The storage research group of the Spanish institute CIC energiGUNE has worked on different ways to optimize phase-change materials (PCMs) to …
