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:
Mapping the global thermosiphon market: insights from eight world regions
Thermosiphon systems account for more than half of the total installed solar thermal capacity worldwide (status at the end of 2022), but little is published about them. The scientists from Task 69 Solar Hot Water for 2030 have closed that gap. They carried out a survey among manufacturers of thermosiphon …
IEA SHC Task 67: a worldwide effort in advancing compact thermal energy storage
Over the past three years, a distinguished team of 60 researchers from 14 different countries has collaborated intensively on advancing the characterization and optimization of compact thermal energy storage (CTES) materials and components. This international effort was led by Wim van Helden, Senior Researcher at the Austrian institute AEE INTEC, …
Extensive knowledge database on solar thermal and PV cooling
The IEA SHC Task 65 on Solar Cooling for the Sunbelt Regions has built up a comprehensive knowhow base over the last four years. 16 reports and a number of conference papers are publicly available on the Task website. Task Manager Dr Uli Jakob has especially highlighted the work on …
Shaping sustainability by understanding regulations for heating systems
How can energy regulations shape the building sector’s transition to a sustainable society? This was one of the questions discussed during the workshop organized by the IEA SHC Task 71 on Life Cycle and Cost Assessment of Solar Heating and Cooling Technologies that took place on 8 October 2024 in …
“Marvellous leadership team to promote the uptake of PVT heating systems”
Dr. Korbinian Kramer from the German institute Fraunhofer ISE has successfully presented the leadership team and outline for the new research platform on PVT Heating Systems to the Executive Committee of the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme. The Committee then confirmed the start of IEA SHC Task 73 titled …
Round robin tests of TES materials lead to adequate standard test procedures
The research group on Compact Thermal Energy Storage Materials of the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme has taken a big step forward in developing and validating standardized thermal energy storage (TES) measurement procedures. Several round robin tests have been carried out over the past three years. During such tests, …
SunPeek – Automated Power Check for Utility-Scale Solar Heat Systems
Evaluating the performance of solar thermal plants is of great interest for operators and it provides a basis for optimizations. A tool for this task is SunPeek, which met with great interest at the recent IEA SHC Solar Academy webinar in November. The open-source software automates the performance assessment of …
„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 …
