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:
IEA SHC Task 52: Solar Thermal’s Role in 2050 Energy Mix
What role solar thermal will play in the energy sector in 2050 is one of the principal questions that the international Task 52 research project Solar Heat and Energy Economics in Urban Environments intends to answer. As part of this IEA Solar Heating & Cooling Programme task, Denmark’s Aalborg University …
IEA SHC: Most Effective Solar Cooling Storage Technologies
Scientists from IEA SHC Task 53, New Generation Solar Cooling & Heating Systems, have compared the cost, efficiency and adaptability of solar cooling storage solutions and are now creating a report about the technologies most suitable for a given application. The researchers examined both thermal and electricity storage systems. But …
IEA SHC Solar Academy: Solar Planning in Times of Rapid City Growth
Just as on Stockholm’s coastline shown in the photo, cities are seeing new neighbourhoods develop or old ones restored and expanded at a rapid pace. Urban planning is a highly complex issue, especially if it involves low-carbon living solutions and environmental regulations. The main objective of the international group of …
IEA SHC: New Task to Use Solar Energy for Water Treatment
On 18 September, there will be a definition meeting for a new task called Solar Energy in Industrial Water Management in Gleisdorf, Austria. The initiator of this international research project within the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme is Christoph Brunner from Austrian organisation AEE INTEC. The aim will be …
French Independent Heat Supplier: “Optimise and de-risk all contracts”
French-based NewHeat is a rapidly growing start-up. About two years after it was founded in December 2015, management has raised almost EUR 1.8 million from private investors to finance the first solar heat delivery projects and strengthen its global sales force. NewHeat, headquartered in Bordeaux, France, calls itself an independent …
IEA-RETD: Lessons Learned from 21 Renewable Projects in Industry
Three years after the International Renewable Energy Agency underlined in its June 2014 Renewable Energy in Manufacturing study the great potential for using renewables in industry, the International Energy Agency has published a comprehensive report on the same topic. It is titled Fostering renewable energy integration in the industry and …
IEA Task 51: Challenges in Urban Planner Education
Cities and large municipalities all around the world have taken the lead in sustainability, and urban planners find themselves in the important position of having to devise solutions for integrating renewable and energy efficiency measures at local level. Each city has its own unique set of resources and pattern of …
IEA SHC Solar Academy: Record Participation in Solar Heat for Industry Webinar
With more than 500 registered participants from 78 countries, Solar Heating for Industrial Processes has been the most frequented webinar of this year’s series hosted by the International Solar Energy Society, proving that there is great interest in this solar thermal application among planners, collector manufacturers and research institutions. This …
IEA SHC Task 58: “We will need new and innovate designs for heat and mass exchangers”
Thermochemical materials (TCMs) used in storage tanks show higher heat capacities than water and smaller losses over time. They are crucial to an increase in solar use among consumers and the storage of summer heat for the winter season. However, they are also more complex than their water-based counterparts, which …
SHC and SWC 2017: Early Bird Registration Now Available
Benefit from an early bird discount by registering for the joint solar conferences in autumn in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, until 31 August. You need to register only once to attend both the SHC 2017 – International Conference on Solar Heating and Cooling for Buildings and Industry and the …
IEA SHC: Free Pre-Sizing Tool for Solar Heating and Cooling
In 2015, Task 48 – Quality Assurance & Support Measures for Solar Cooling – came to an end. One of the activities of this IEA Solar Heating & Cooling Programme task was the creation of PISTACHE, a tool for professionals who need to pre-size solar cooling, heating and domestic hot …
IEA SHC Solar Academy: Solar Heating for Industrial Processes
Researchers have worked intensively across national borders to increase deployment of Solar Heat for Industrial Processes (SHIP), which is regarded as one of the most promising solar thermal applications. When IEA SHC Task 49, Solar Heat Integration in Industrial Processes, was launched in 2012, there were reportedly around 120 SHIP …
