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: Reaching 40 Years of Global Research Activities
The international Energy Agency (IEA) wants to strengthen its work supporting the energy transformation to a safe and sustainable low-carbon energy system. A key asset of the IEA is its global network of over 6,000 energy technology researchers and experts working in the 39 Technology Collaboration Programmes, TCPs, (former Implementation …
Austria: Optimising of Large-scale Collector Fields
One key aspect of the energy and cost optimisation of large-scale collector fields (called arrays in this news) is collector array hydraulics. Optimal connection is achieved when (1) the costs and length of the connecting pipes is small, (2) the pressure drop over the entire array is low and (3) …
Solar Cooling: Results Diagram Directs Stakeholders to Content of Interest
The best solar research results are of little use if they are not distributed and known to stakeholders from the industry, planning departments or public authorities involved in the related field work. This becomes an even more important point if the aim of the research is to “assist with the …
Meet Where the Continents Meet: SHC2015 in Istanbul
Two continents meet in Istanbul, in a metropolis of 15 million. More than 230 researchers and industry representatives from five continents used this strategic spot for their participation in SHC2015, a high-level conference which took place at the beginning of December and focused on solar heating and cooling technologies as …
IEA SHC Task 51: Urban Planners Know Little about Solar Energy Potential
During IEA SHC Task 51, Solar Energy in Urban Planning, the project partners evaluated the legal, process and education issues of solar in urban planning across the twelve member countries. What they found was: Planners and architects know little about the opportunities of solar energy usage. Solar energy in urban …
SHC2015: Conference Combines New Technologies, Market Analysis and Policies
The development of the international solar heating and cooling markets is posing great challenges: Whereas the residential market has been on the decline, market demand is shifting towards complex industrial solutions, large-scale plants for solar district heating and innovative solutions for building integration. The leading international solar thermal conference, the …
IEA SHC: Start of International Research Network on GW-Sized Solar Thermal Plants
The IEA’s solar heating and cooling programme has begun its research activities on solar thermal systems of gigawatt size. Scientists, industry representatives and utilities have been invited to participate in a definition workshop for a new task in the Austrian city of Graz on 5 November 2015. Sabine Putz, COO …
IEA SHC: Industry Invited to Join Research Community for Lower Solar Heat Costs
Driving down the costs of solar thermal systems is not only about cheaper collector production. In fact, post-production processes, such as sales, installation and maintenance account for up to 50 % of the price the end customer will have to pay. The new IEA SHC Task 54, Price Reduction of …
IEA SHC Task 49: Solar Process Heat Showcase in Montpellier
Industry participation is key for the research work of IEA’s Solar Heating and Cooling Programme. Hence, the researchers of Task 49, Solar Heat Integration in Industrial Processes, used the last meeting in France in mid-September to hold a one-day workshop dedicated to Solar Heat Integration in Industrial Processes (SHIP) in …
Solar Cooling 2.0: New Generation Growing Up
The workshop New Generation Solar Cooling & Heating Systems held in Rome, Italy, on 23 September 2015 was the opportunity to check the status of both research on and market developments in solar cooling technology. The half-day event, which had about 40 participants, was jointly organised by Task 53 of …
IEA SHC Task 42: Latent Heat Storage Has Huge Potential in the Long Run
In their position paper published in August 2015, the scientists of IEA SHC Task 42 (Compact Thermal Energy Storage) summed up the key results of their work between 2009 and 2015. Operating agent Matthias Rommel sees huge potential for latent heat and sorption materials in the long run – in …
IEA SHC: 20 Country Profile Analyse Market and Industry Development
“The Renewable Heat Incentive in the United Kingdom has failed to stimulate the market for solar thermal, which continues to contract. There are technical issues in the regulations preventing the use of solar thermal with other renewable heating systems, such as biomass and heat pumps, and the subsidy rate is …
