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:
New tool provides over 150 solutions for historic building retrofits
A new web application named HiBERtool helps practitioners find the perfect solution for the conservation of historic buildings. The tool explains more than 150 retrofit measures, which range from increasing a building’s energy efficiency to providing solar energy on site. With just a few clicks, users will get solutions tailored …
#EnergyEfficientLighting: Dynamic research group publishes 16 reports
The success of highly energy-efficient lighting designs hinges on more than technological ingenuity. Other key make-or-break factors are smart control strategies and the interaction of lighting users with the built environment. Under the auspices of the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme, both of these factors were now thoroughly analysed …
Standardised yield assessments for industrial solar heat plants
The yield of solar process heat systems as simulated during feasibility studies has a decisive influence on the profitability of the respective investment. Therefore, simulation tools play an important role in the project development phase. Currently, however, project developers use a large number of simulation tools, whose results may differ …
Pathway to 100 % renewables: “Industry is a really hard-to-abate sector”
“The world is burning more fossil fuels than ever. We need deep structural change,” REN21 Executive Director Rana Adib warned attendees at a panel discussion at last week’s Solar World Congress. “It is not enough anymore to look at the energy supply side – that is, the power sector – …
Tackling the complexity of urban-level energy simulations
A special “Fall School” for PhD and advanced master’s students to enhance their knowledge of designing and implementing solar strategies in urban areas was offered by the IEA SHC Task 63 Solar Neighbourhood Planning in October. Dr. Caroline Hachem-Vermette from the University of Calgary, Canada, organised the course for 14 …
China’s future role in the IEA SHC Programme
The Chinese solar thermal market shows a varied picture of demand. While subsectors such as solar space heating are booming, total market volume continues to decline. Solarthermalworld.org spoke with two professors at the China Academy of Building Research, He Tao (see above) and Ruicheng Zheng (see below), about the drivers …
IEA SHC Solar Cooling Task: “We can make a difference”
US project developer ergSol is a true pioneer. The company is not only putting up large commercial solar heat systems in California but also supports the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling programme by heading the Demonstration subtask of global research network Task 65 – Solar Cooling for the Sunbelt Regions …
IEA SHC workshop to create ‘Smart Solar Water Heating for 2030’ research platform
With 57 % of the total solar heating capacity in operation globally, thermosiphon systems top the list of the world’s most used solar thermal technologies. At the same time, photovoltaic systems are also emerging as a real player for getting heat from the sun. Both technologies are rapidly evolving to …
SICA countries join IEA SHC with some flagship projects
In its current Solar Update Newsletter August 2021 the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme welcomes what is already the sixth Regional Sustainable Energy Centre to join as a sponsor. The most recent new member is SICREEE, which opened its doors at the beginning of 2021 and represents the eight …
How SHIP can compete with heat produced from natural gas in Europe
Many studies have shown the huge potential solar thermal has for clean heat production in industry. But so far, there have been comparatively few attempts to tap into this potential, partly because of high investment costs and partly because of end customers’ lack of knowledge about, and therefore trust in, …
Germany’s solar heat success story in 2020 and beyond
In 2020, the German market for solar heat grew by 26 % – more than any other major solar thermal market around the globe, according to the new Solar Heat Worldwide 2021 report (see chart above). Speaking at an IEA SHC Solar Academy in June, Harald Drück, a researcher at …
Global PVT market on track for more growth
PVT collectors – which use solar radiation to produce both heat and electricity – have been gaining in popularity in a rising number of markets around the world. In 2019, the Netherlands, France and Spain claimed the top spots for the most PVT capacity added in a year. In 2020, …
