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:
GBP 320 million for low-carbon heat networks
Heat networks have proved to be a reliable and cost-effective means to supply low-carbon thermal energy. And yet, just 2 % of buildings in the UK are connected to them. As a result, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy launched the Heat Networks Investment Project (HNIP) last October …
SHC 2019: Solar award nominations and extended call for papers
The organisers of the SHC, the International Conference on Solar Heating and Cooling for Buildings and Industry, which will be held in November in Chile, have extended the deadline for submissions. Experts can now submit abstracts of up to three pages by Friday, 22 March. The first full week this …
#SolarHeat: the main Twitter hashtag
#SolarThermal or #SolarHeat: Which of these two Twitter hashtags or keywords better represents the production of thermal energy from sunlight? Because of some recent, large concentrating solar power (CSP) projects, the term solar thermal seems to be in frequent use on social networking sites, although for plants that generate electricity …
“The market requires simple plug-and-play solutions”
Spanish-based supplier Endef is seeing increased demand for both its covered and uncovered PV-thermal systems produced in-house in Saragossa. Last year was the first in which the business installed devices at non-commercial buildings in Spain and implemented projects abroad. Endef is a member of the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling …
Testing collector durability in China
How well will evacuated tube collectors made in China hold up after prolonged exposure to sunlight? The answer to this question can be found in a new report, titled Development of Accelerated Ageing Tests for Evacuated Tube Collectors. Created by the China Academy of Building Research (CABR) as part of …
Innovative solar-assisted heat pumps
The principal objective of a recently launched, EU-funded project named SunHorizon is to optimise solar-assisted heat pump systems in residential and commercial buildings. The endeavour will demonstrate a wide variety of solutions for both technologies, such as thermal compression, adsorption and reversible operation regarding heat pumps and photovoltaic, thermal and …
SHC 2019: Call for papers open until February
In 2019, the International Conference on Solar Heating and Cooling for Buildings and Industry (SHC) will again take place together with the ISES Solar World Congress (SWC). The events will be held in Chile’s vibrant capital, Santiago, from 4 to 7 November, accompanied by workshops and technical tours. The last …
Solar air-conditioning training for energy professionals
Around 40 attendees from Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe benefitted from a three-day training course on Solar Cooling and Air Conditioning at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, late last November. The course, aimed at solar energy professionals, had been organised by SOLTRAIN, the Southern African Solar …
Quality and certification can push solar markets
That a wider use of quality standards in the solar thermal sector leads to increased internationalisation and cost saving for manufacturers was the conclusion of those listening to a webinar on Solar Standards and Certification on 12 December. Organised by the IEA SHC’s Solar Academy, the event was moderated by …
IEA SHC supports historic buildings expert network
The 3rd International Conference on Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings (EEHB 2018), which took place in Sweden in September, proved to be the perfect location to show the work of IEA SHC Task, Renovating Historic Buildings Towards Zero Energy. Task Coordinator Alexandra Troi, of Italian-based Eurac Research, presented the group’s …
What simulation tools to use for SHIP?
As use of solar heat in manufacturing is still at an early stage, planners and engineers require tools to model and compare differently sized systems and ideas for process integration. In August 2015, researchers working on SHC Task 49, Solar Heat Integration in Industrial Processes, published a list of suitable …
Sun meets 90 % of district heat demand in Tibetan town
On 29 and 30 October, the Solar Academy of the IEA SHC Programme held a 1.5-day training course on solar district heating in Lianyungang, at Sunrain Solar Energy’s headquarters. It provided around 150 researchers, engineers, planners, other technical staff and students from organisations with ties to the solar thermal industry …
