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:
Strong European research network meets at Eurosun
Yesterday marked the start of the first virtual Eurosun. More than 200 experts from the worlds of research and business had signed up for the three-day event organised by the International Solar Energy Society (ISES) and supported by the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling programme. Half of the participants are …
Little support for PV-thermal despite high yields
PVT applications do not receive nearly as much support as solar thermal or PV systems do. Incentive schemes especially often do not include funding for PV-thermal components. In addition, special PVT grants are offered only in Germany but not in Austria, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland or the UK, according …
Region with high solar ambitions joins IEA SHC
One of the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme’s new sponsors is SACREEE, the Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, set up by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), an intergovernmental organisation. SADC represents a dynamically developing solar thermal region encompassing 16 countries (see map) with around 300 million …
Digital lighting controls improve user satisfaction
Designing energy-efficient lighting for offices and public buildings requires a deep understanding of user requirements. Although smart lighting solutions can lower electricity consumption significantly, building users want some sort of manual control for both light and window components. This is the result of a global survey conducted by Integrated Solutions …
Export champions from Greece offer good value for money
The Greek solar thermal industry is an export champion: The total collector area sold to customers abroad tripled from 200,000 m2 to 600,000 m2 in only 10 years (see chart). Greek manufacturers took advantage of opportunities around the world while demand for their cost-competitive and reliable products also grew at …
Solar cooling concepts for hot climates
The just started international research platform Solar Cooling for the Sunbelt region is very popular among research institutions, manufacturers and consultancies around the world. Already more than 50 organisations from the green-marked countries on the map have signed a letter of support. Other institutions based in the blue-coloured countries are …
Fact sheets show 30 operational PV-thermal systems
PV-thermal installations are extremely versatile systems, and their manufacturers can cater to a wide variety of customers, single- and multi-family building owners, hotels, swimming pools and even production facilities among them. To illustrate how far PVT technology has come in recent years, global research platform Task 60, Application of PVT …
Success factors in top SDH countries
In the last decade, Denmark, China, Germany and Austria played a leading role in the deployment of large solar thermal systems around the world. What country-specific factors helped these four achieve that level of market adoption and how support schemes and business models contributed to success has been the topic …
SBE Heritage conference calls for papers
The SBE conference’s 2021 edition will be held under the title SBE Heritage in Bolzano, Italy, between 14 and 16 April 2021. Italian-based Eurac Research will organise this first regional conference of the cycle 2021-2023 which will end with the World Sustainable Built Environment (WSBE) conference in 2023. Eurac Research …
Optimising life-cycle costs in the construction industry
A facade to capture solar energy is a particularly appealing option if a solar thermal system is to be integrated into an office or a multi-family building, as the available roof area is often relatively small compared to how much floor space needs to be heated or cooled. An international …
Global perspective on solar heating and cooling
Solar thermal is increasingly used to provide district heat around the world. In 2019, the market grew by about 170 % in Denmark but also expanded in other countries, such as China and Germany, mainly because the technology became more cost-competitive. Another factor driving growth was rising demand from industry …
Round robins improve TCM testing
Thermochemical storage materials (TCMs) offer much higher storage capacities by mass or volume than sensible or latent heat storage and can store heat for an infinite amount of time almost without losses. However, none of them are very advanced so that a common standard for characterising their properties will be …
