SHC News

PV-Thermal: Major markets and most sought-after technologies

IEA SHC Task 60, Application of PVT Collectors, shows how a fruitful collaboration between industry and research can lead to a thorough analysis of current...

Strategies to promote solar envelopes

In the last four years, the multidisciplinary IEA SHC Task 56 research group worked intensively on strategies to increase the market penetration of solar...

Using solar energy to recover acids and metals from wastewater

An IEA SHC research group led by Dr Joachim Koschikowski, of Fraunhofer ISE, has created a matrix depicting thermal separation methods for industrial wastewater...

Trigeneration with PVT ? here is a nice example from Spain

This Spanish plant is based on solar hybrid PVT collectors integrated with a reversible heat pump (vapour-compression unit) for heating, cooling, electricity...

Task 60 highlights 2020 is available in the publications section of the Task60 website

The "Task highlights" is the summary of work achieved during 2020.

Assessing lighting quality in commercial buildings

How effective are integrated daylighting and electric lighting solutions in raising comfort and saving energy? To answer this question, a group of researchers...

Surface synergies and conflicts in smart cities

Surface area is an important but limited resource in cities that aim to become climate neutral. It can be used to, for example, generate heat or electricity...

Heat Load Profiles – A Key for Unlocking Renewable Heating Systems Potential

In the context of IEA SHC Task 64: Solar Process Heat, researchers developed a method to estimate the heat load profiles of companies in industry...

Lighting Solutions with People in Mind

The collaborative project, SHC Task 61 / EBC Annex 77 on Integrated Solutions for Daylight and Electric Lighting: From Component to User Centered...

IEA SHC & IEA ECES Collaboration Makes Advances in Thermal Energy Storage

Thermal energy storage is key for integrating renewable heat sources into an energy system --from domestic applications to district heating and from...

Material and Component Development for Thermal Energy Storage

The IEA SHC Programme concluded its joint project with the IEA Energy Conservation through Energy Storage (ECES) Programme on Material and Component...

Hybrid solutions are key to decarbonising industry

Industrial solar heat will be a key element of any strategy to decarbonise the industrial sector. A mid-November workshop organised by partners to the...

Technical and market assessment of solar cooling in the Caribbean

IEA SHC Solar Academy’s first online training sessions on solar heating and cooling in the Caribbean have been well received by those attending the event.

Fact sheets TASK 55 available

TASK 55 ends soon! Currently the fact sheets are in finalization. There are already some fact sheets downloadable.

Solar thermal cooling reduces the strain on the power grid

Global IEA Solar Heating and Cooling research platform Task 65, called Solar Cooling for the Sunbelt Regions, aims to provide countries in Africa, Asia...

Online workshop about solar-powered industrial water management

Using solar energy to decontaminate and disinfect industrial water could save both GHG emissions and water. To this end, the Water Solar Treatment research...

TrustEE standardises project assessment and financing

Any company that wants to be successful in selling industrial solar heat solutions to end users and investors needs standardised project assessment and...

Improved design for giga-size pit heat storage

Denmark’s cost-effective, tried-and-true seasonal pit heat storage concept needs to be modified if it is to be implemented across Europe, since district...

Four years of global SDH research summarised in online workshop and factsheets

On Thursday, 15 October 2020, an online technology transfer workshop about large solar district heating networks will provide attendees with the perfect...

Thermal storage for flexible sector integration

In his keynote speech at Eurosun 2020, Dr Andreas Hauer talked about the different roles that heat storage could play as part of a whole systems approach...

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...

New Solar Cooling Project

The new project, Task 65: Solar Cooling for the Sunbelt Regions, builds upon our past four solar cooling Tasks. This Task will be different in that it...

Solar Energy in Industrial Water and Wastewater Management

The change to a sustainable, resource- and energy-efficient industry represents a major challenge in the coming years. The efficient supply of energy,...

Building Integrated Solar Envelopes: Current Status and Actions Needed

The objective of our Task on Building Integrated Solar Envelope Systems for HVAC and Lighting was to answer how solar envelope systems can become common...

Digital lighting controls improve user satisfaction

Designing energy-efficient lighting for offices and public buildings requires a deep understanding of user requirements.

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...

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...

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...

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.

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,...

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...

FINAL SHC Task 55 Expert Meeting - Online Meeting - October 13 - 15

The meeting will be held as a pure virtual/online meeting via ZOOM. Registered participants will receive the ZOOM link in the week before the start of...

Product Gallery is ready

Visit our gallery and click on the images to access information on the single technologies.

Lessons learned from first IEA SHC online meetings

“It worked very, very well and we saved a lot of emissions,” said one of the participants in the two-day online workshop organised by research platform...

Call for Proposals: SBE21 Heritage

The conference will be dedicated to the sustainable improvement of the built heritage, a research area that has grown significantly over the last 10 years...

Hybrid solutions maximise solar yield per area

A record 840 people registered for the PVT solutions for buildings and industry webinar in order to learn more about the wide range of applications in...

Compact heat battery with virtually no heat loss

A compact thermochemical seasonal storage system put up at a demonstration site in Warsaw, Poland, is working as expected. The prototype, developed and...

How to reduce energy consumption in historic buildings?

Historic buildings make up 30 % of the European building stock and account for more than a third of the total energy consumption in the residential sector...

Using solar steam to clean wastewater

Manufacturers have begun looking for solutions to lower the cost of wastewater disposal. One way for them to reduce the volume of contaminated water is...

March 25 2020 - A SHC ISES webinar on PVT systems !

Task 60 experts will give a Webinar on PVT on March 2020 on internet. Exact time and how to attend will be communicated as soon as possible. Check also...

A solar PVT DHW system studied in DK

The performance of the system was assessed using selected key performance indicators. A parametric analysis was performed identifying component sizes that...

UK Training Workshop on Renewable Heat for Heat Networks Held in December

In December, Triple Point Heat Networks Investment Management, in collaboration with the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling TCP, hosted a workshop in the UK...

Compact thermal energy storage: research in cycles

Research into compact thermal energy storage is made difficult by the fact that the performance of storage materials depends significantly on their intended...

Solar World Congress 2019

Water and energy are the most important resources globally. The term ‘water-energy nexus’ underlines their close connection, and the phrase has become...

In search of cost-effective, advanced PCMs

Salt hydrates are the most interesting phase change material in the low-temperature range of up to 150 °C. Their volume-related enthalpy at melting is...

Solar World Congress : A keynote speech on PVT by Korbinian Kramer

On Nov. 4 2019 in Santiago de Chile at the Solar World congress and also SHC 2019 conference, Korbinian our Subtask B leader, gave a talk on PVT. This...

Andreas Häberle: First large projects tap the potential of solar industrial heat

Electricity is dominating the international discussion about the decarbonisation of the energy sector. In reality, only one-third of our energy demand...

Final IEA SHC Task 55 Expert Meeting

FINAL Task 55 Expert Meeting: October 13th to15th, 2020 will probably take place in Graz, Austria. We are looking forward to welcome you in Graz in October...

Touring exhibition shows retrofits in 11 historic buildings

In October, Vienna became the first venue for the new touring exhibition Historic Buildings Energy Retrofit Atlas. At the European Congress on the Use,...

IEA SHC Solar Academy: Material and Component Development for Thermal Energy Storage - November 27, 2019

The International Solar Energy Society is hosting the next webinar in the IEA SHC Solar Academy's 2019 webinar series on Task 58 - Material and Component...

Encouraging faster materials development for compact storage

Research and industry experts in thermochemical storage materials are invited to participate in a workshop that will take place on 11 and 12 November in...

Global support for solar cooling in sunbelt regions

Transferring knowledge and solar cooling technology to sunbelt countries in Africa, on the Mediterranean coast and in Asia will be the main aim of a new...

Solar planning experts meet in France

Between 22 and 24 October, the University of Savoie Mont Blanc in Le Bourget-du-Lac, France, will be the venue for the first meeting about research platform...

Webinar: How to use facades to generate solar energy

Sept. 3, 2019, SolarThermalWorld.org, by Bärbel Epp

Solar District Heating Infographics Available for Download

Task 55 has developed eleven infographics to illustrate SDH technologies, advantages and market developments. The files are available as jpgs and pdfs...

Best practice examples of urban solar projects exceed expectations

Researchers working for the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling programme have created a list of urban solar heat projects that not only met but exceeded the...

Publication: Impact of climate change on indoor environment of historic libraries in Mediterranean climate zone

NZEB Project Partners at the Izmir Institute of Technology have recently had an article published in the International Journal of Global Warming. It describes...

Appropriate refurbishment of traditional buildings

Historic Environment Scotland have agreed a partnership with the UK Government’s Energy Saving Trust (EST) in Edinburgh to assist in the dissemination...

Collaboration on advising landowners and farms on energy efficient upgrades to traditional rural cottages in Scotland

Historic Environment Scotland are working with Scottish Land and Estates (SLE) to advise landowners and farms on how to upgrade traditional rural cottages...

Reducing energy consumption in historic buildings

A meeting in mid-April, Copenhagen, Denmark, gave members of IEA SHC research platform Renovating Historic Buildings Towards Zero Energy (Task 59) the...

New Solar Keymark Network Rules Allow On-Site Testing

The Solar Keymark Network has expanded its range of options by including in situ testing. At a meeting in March 2019, a revised version of the Solar Keymark...

Konferenz: Die Sonnenhülle zwischen Veränderung und Koexistenz im Gleichgewicht der Orte

With the support of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) / Bundesam fuer Energie (BFE) and EnergieSchweiz, as well as cooperation with the magazine...

7th IEA SHC Task55 Expert Meeting

The 7th IEA SHC Task55 Expert Meeting is taking place Task 55 Expert Meeting:  October 7th/8th 2019 District heating industry workshop: October...

PV-Thermal collector area tops 1 million

PV-Thermal systems, which generate heat and electricity from the same collector, are gaining ever more traction: For the first time, they have now been...

Cost of PVT: how to calculate ?

A LCOH method to calcule the cost of energy from PVT systems

Solar heat for desalination and metal recovery

Small desalination systems could help fight water scarcity, recover precious metals from industrial water, and treat wastewater from food processing so...

Go-to-market strategies for industrial solar heat

Within the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme, preparations have been made to establish a new international research platform focusing on nearly market-ready...

Seasonal pit heat storage: Cost benchmark of 30 EUR/m3

Denmark has had a steep – but successful – learning curve with regard to the cost and efficiency of seasonal pit heat storage, which is used to store sunlight...

German Energy consultants recommend solar thermal

The solar thermal industry cannot complain about a lack of enthusiasm among energy consultants: When asked in a survey by Task 54 of the IEA Solar Heating...

Solar Cooling at Intersolar 2019

his year’s Intersolar Europe, which took place in Munich, featured a conference session titled Solar, the new cool? Among the speakers at this solar cooling...

Task60 has held a webinar on PVT certification in March 2019

In this webinar, moderator Andreas Häberle (SHC Task 60 Subtask D) welcomes Andreas Bohren (Solar Keymark), Laetitia Brottier (DualSun), Shawn Martin...

SWOT analysis of building-integrated solar systems

April 17, 2019, SolarThermalWorld.org, by Barbel Epp

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...

2nd Expert Meeting of IEA SHC Task 62 in Almería

The 2nd expert meeting of our IEA SHC Task 62 took place from 2nd to 3rd of April in Almería, Spain. Almost 30 experts from all over Europe jonit the...

A PVT installation in Spain

  The solar PVT industry participation from several countries in Task 60 is to be noticed. In Spain a 80-PVT solar hybrid installation located...

International Solar Energy Society (ISES) Webinar March 21st 2019

Thank you again very much for participating in last weeks webinar, we had great feedback from the attendees and I think it went very well.  The...

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...

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,...

A top scientific paper from Maria Herrando and al. on PVT collector optimal design

The paper is published in Science Direct: Herrando M, Ramos A, Zabalza I, Markides CN. A comprehensive assessment of alternative absorber-exchanger designs...

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...

Quality and certification can push solar markets

That a wider use of quality standards in the solar thermal sector would be increased internationalisation and cost saving for manufacturers was the conclusion...

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...

PVT in South Africa

A new project in Cape Town featuring a PVT solution! www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/15-on-oranges-pvt-energy-system-now-fully-operational-2018-12-11/rep_id:4136See

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...

IEA SHC Task 62 presented at 84th ExCo Meeting in Lisbon

On November 13-15, the 84th ExCo Meeting was held at LNEG in Lisbon, Portugal. Christoph Brunner, Operating Agent of Task 62, presented the ongoing...

Sun meets 90% of district heat demand in Tibet

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...

PVT and seasonal storage: innovative technologies in Spain

Local production of PVT panels and systems which achieve high solar fractions by using seasonal storage: This is the main objective of Spanish start-up...

Abora on solarthermalworld.org

ABORA systems are making market insights

Israeli firm offers large variety of PVT systems

Homes, hospitals, hotels, industrial facilities and greenhouses (see photo): These are some of the many uses for turnkey PV systems produced by Millennium...

Quality principles for solar air conditioning systems

The latest generation of solar air conditioning systems comes in a vast variety of configurations. As shown in the diagram above, their source of energy...

Online database on advanced PCMs

Compared to water, phase change materials (PCMs) offer more capacity to store heat in tanks. As a consequence, researchers in all corners of the world...

Future Meetings & Events

Check here for a list of upcoming Task Meetings & Other events yet to be scheduled.

Excellent material for sorption-based solar energy storage

Microporous hydrophilic substances such as zeolites are recognised as promising materials for very efficient energy storage. Solar thermal systems are...

Task 53 Holds Workshop at ISEC Conference

On October 3, 2018, participants from IEA SHC Task 53 held a workshop called the Solar Cooling Austrian Workshop in Graz, Austria in conjuction with the...

New at IEA SHC: Solar neighbourhood planning

Case study reporting by research platform Solar Energy in Urban Planning has recently concluded with the publication of an interactive map showing 34 case...

Producing hot water underneath natural slates

A state-of-the-art solar thermal system has been installed under the slate roof of a castle in Ghent, Belgium. Roll-bonded Thermoslate absorbers measuring...

New standard to improve energy performance of historic buildings

Maintaining the exterior of a historic building while raising energy efficiency is not necessarily a contradiction. The new EN 16883:2017 standard, Conservation...

IEA SHC Task 54 - Final Experts Meeting 19-20 Sep 2018

We're looking forward to our final experts meeting from 19-20 Sep 2018 in Oslo, Norway. More info will be provided on our events section soon.

Combining the strengths of collector technologies

Task 55 of the IEA SHC Programme is currently studying the benefits of systems equipped with both flat plate and parabolic trough collectors to supply...

Solar district heating potential of small towns in Europe

Most small European towns connected to a district heating network have enough land available for a solar field to meet 20 % of heat demand. In all, 93...

ISES Webinar on Solar Thermal markets and PVT June 12, 2018

see the recording of the 3 presentations and the discussion

PVT increasingly used for net zero energy buildings

A rising number of manufacturers and suppliers in Europe are offering combined photovoltaic and solar thermal systems, also known as PVT units. This was...

On-site collector testing: new standard in development

Once a large solar field is set up at its designated location, what tests can be conducted to show that it performs as expected? Soon, the IEA Solar Heating...

IEA SHC TASK 55: Trends in April 2018

The 4th Task 55 Expert Meeting, the SHD DHC Joined Workshop and lates project results are highlihted within the latest Task 55 Trends Statement.

Q&As from Task 54's Solar Academy webinar available now

Questions asked by the participants, answered by Task 54 experts.

Building-Integrated Solar Envelopes:Barriers to Deployment

Active and passive solar systems integrated into building envelopes are key to combatting climate change. However, there are many barriers which confine...

Sweden: Pioneer of solar district heating

When it comes to district heating, Sweden has made the switch from fossil fuels to biomass and waste heat (see chart). As early as 2015, biomass provided...

How to Turn Historic Structures into Nearly Zero Energy Buildings

More than one-fourth of all residential buildings in Europe date from before 1945. Over the past decade, preservationists have taken to the idea of renovating...

IEA SHC Webinar: Cost reduction potential above 30 %

The key takeaway from an IEA SHC Solar Academy webinar held on 14 March 2018: There is still much room for cost cuts along the entire solar thermal value...

Solar Cooling Workshop to be held in Conjunction with Task 53 Experts Meeting

One day after the final Task meeting the Solar Cooling Workshop hosted by ILK Dresden will present some major results of Task 53 to the public.

International Seminar on the Status of PVT Systems

The seminar on the current status of PVT collectors and systems, took place in Freiburg on May 16th prior to the first experts´ meeting of IEA SHC Task...

Solar district heating on the Roof of the World

A contract to set up a solar district heating network in Langkazi county in Tibet has been awarded to Arcon-Sunmark Large-Scale Solar Systems.

Solar cooling increases annual solar fraction

Solar cooling could be an effective way to increase the annual solar fraction of domestic hot water production and prevent the solar system from overheating...

Daylight and electric lighting: new research initiative

The IEA Solar Heating & Cooling Programme has approved Task 61, a new research initiative concentrating on integrated daylight and electric lighting solutions....

SHC Industry Roadmap for Australia

Despite Australia’s high levels of solar irradiation and rising energy costs, its solar heating and cooling market has been in decline each year since...

IEA SHC Solar Academy: Price Reduction of Solar Thermal Systems

IEA SHC Solar Academy Webinar on Price Reduction of Solar Thermal Systems on March 14, 2018, 15:00 - 16:30

IEA SHC Task 52: District Heating Shows Lower Total Socio-Economic Cost in Future Energy System

What would the economic impact on a future energy system be if one were to unlock the full solar thermal potential in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Italy?

Global certification saves money and time

To enter new markets, solar thermal collector manufacturers need to have their products tested and certified as meeting local standards. Thanks to GSCN,...

French PVT market is picking up

The IEA’s Solar Heating and Cooling Programme will create its own international research platform on PVT systems in January 2018. Researchers and industry...

SHC 2017: Largest experts’ meeting on integrated solar heating and cooling

  NEWS at Solarthermalworld.org: 500 experts from more than 50 countries attended the 5th International Conference on Solar Heating and Cooling...

IEA SHC Task 54: Solar Thermal Cost Reductions

The objective of IEA SHC Task 54 is to reduce the purchase price of solar thermal systems by up to 40 % across the entire value chain. To achieve this,...

LCOH for Reference Systems published

Check out the Info Sheets developed by participants in Task 54.

IEA SHC Task 56: Cooperation on Energy Balance and Building Design Tools

Facades of residential and tertiary buildings offer enough space for daylight control and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) systems. Active...

Cooperation on Energy Balance and Building Design Tools

Article by B. Epp on SolarThermalWorld.org.

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...

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...

IEA SHC Solar Academy: Solar Planning in Times of Rapid City Growth

Urban planning is a highly complex issue, especially if it involves low-carbon living solutions and environmental regulations. The main objective of the...

IEA SHC 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...

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...

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...

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...

3rd Meeting of the IEA-SHC Task 55 "Towards the Integration of Large SHC Systems into DHC Networks"

The 3rd SHC Task 55 Expert Meeting will be organized along the Solar World Congress 2017 in Abu Dhabi, UAE, which takes place from the 29th of October...

Cost reduction workshop in Linz, Austria on 04 October 2017

In October 2017, Task 54 presents its first results during a public dissemination workshop and industry round table in Linz, Austria. Both events are linked...

Installation Questionnaire Launched

Task 54 launched a questionnaire on the installation effort to make cost structures more transparent and to help us understand current obstacles for the...

Towards a Solar System Without Electronic Controllers: Conico Valves presents the first one-way valve for heat flow.

Conico Valves presents the first one-way valve for heat flow.

Release of a MATLAB Toolbox to calculate pressure loss coefficients (zeta values) for T-pieces at low Reynolds numbers

One of the key aspects in the design of large solar thermal plants is the hydraulic layout of the collectors and collector arrays. This recently released...

Successful Task 54 Workshop in Brussels on 25 May 2016

The first IEA SHC Task 54 workshop was held in the framework of the ESTTP workshop "Solar Thermal Energy for Europe" (24-25 May 2016) in Brussels, Belgium.

IEA SHC Task 55: Solar District Heating Means Big Business

Solar district heating is attractive business. Not only does this become obvious when looking at the 347 MWth of newly installed SDH capacity in Denmark...

IEA SHC Task 54: Investigating Cost Factors Along the Value Chain

Researchers have worked intensively for one-and-a-half years across national borders to find ways of reducing the costs of solar thermal systems and making...

Netherlands: Solar Thermal Benefits from SDE+ Solar Heat Tariff

The need for highly competitive designs meant that solar thermal had not had much of a chance within the SDE+ programme until the end of 2015. Most of...

Thirty Net Zero Energy Buildings in One Book

The joint SHC Task 40 / EBC Annex 52 project Towards Net Zero Energy Solar Buildings has been one of the largest of the Technology Collaboration Programmes...

TWITTER: Task 55 News

Task 55 is now on Twitter! Follow the latest Task 55 News HERE.

IEA SHC Task 53: Innovative Solar Cooling Systems

The biggest challenge for a small market like the solar cooling one – which has still a long way to go – is how to reduce system costs. One way to achieve...

Task 53 7th Experts Meeting scheduled for April 19-20 in Messina, Italy

The 7th Experts Meeting for IEA SHC Task 53 will be held April 19-20, 2017 in Messina, Italy.

National Dissemination Workshop on Polymeric Collectors

National Dissemination Workshop on polymeric collectors on 31 January 2017 in Ingolstadt, Germany.

Facade-integrated HVAC components pose a Challenge for all parties involved

The integration of solar facade solutions into the HVAC and lighting system of a building can only be successful if it is coordinated with architects and...

Global Solar Certification Network: Facilitating International High-Quality Collector Trade

The recent approval of Working Rules means that the Global Solar Certification Network (GSCN) can now accept membership applications. The reuse of test...

Facade-integrated HVAC components pose a Challenge for all parties involved

Read the article by B. Epp on SolarThermalWorld.org.

Cost Study in Switzerland: Solar Thermal Systems Cost Almost Twice as Much as in Austria

The Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) has published a study on end customer prices for solar thermal systems in Switzerland.

SHC TASK 55 Kick-Off Meeting in Graz, Austria: About 25 Experts joined the Event

19th - 21st of October 2016: International experts on large scale solar thermal systems, district heating, heat pumps, control strategies, or systems operations...

SHC Task 55 at the Green Expo Forum 2016 - Video is now available!

The Green Expo Forum 2016 in Doha, Qatar, is a platform for practitioners, experts, regulators and researchers, to discuss various topics on sustainability...

IEA SHC Task 46: Bankable Solar Data Sets for Concentrating Technologies

Whether investors put their money into large-scale concentrating solar heat and power systems, solar district heating plants or photovoltaic fields, they...

IEA SHC Task 50: Lighting Industry Explores Contracting Solutions

LED technology has greatly changed the face of the lighting market: In just a few years, lighting systems have become twice as efficient and half as expensive.

IEA SHC Task 51: German Summer School Educates Students on Solar Urban Planning

The summer school called City in Transition (Stadt im Wandel) ended with a public presentation of the project designs from four student groups on Monday,...

IEA SHC: Attractive Solar Solutions for Urban and Landscape Planning

How can urban planners be convinced to consider solar energy technologies in municipality projects? This is the key challenge faced by the international...

TASK 45 / 55: Guidelines on How to Design Seasonal Storage

Seasonal storage is a key component in the transformation of today’s energy industry. Besides storing energy in summer for heating in winter, it can also...

District heating: “The industry is very optimistic about its future prospects”

District heating has a long history in Scandinavia: The international symposium on district heating was launched there in 1987. In the meantime, the technology...

2nd Experts Meeting at Darmstadt Technical University

23 experts from 16 partner organisations joined the meeting in Darmstadt, on 13 and 14 September, followed by excursions to "ETA Factory - The energy efficient...

Launch of Questionnaire on Installation

Questionnaire on installation of solar thermal systems now available in German, English and French.

Task 54 now on Twitter

Task 54 is now on Twitter. You can find us via @IEA_SHC_Task54. Tell us what you think about our goals and join the network.

IEA SHC: Cost Reduction Analysis Workshops at German University of Stuttgart

http://www.solarthermalworld.org/content/iea-shc-cost-reduction-analysis-workshops-german-university-stuttgart

KOST / TEWISOL Information Day, 5 October 2016

ITW Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 10, 70569 Stuttgart, 5 October 2016, 12:00 - 16:00

Solar Thermal Costs Published in Solar Heat World Wide 2016

Webinar: Global View on Solar Heating and Cooling Market online

3rd Task 54 Experts Meeting in Stuttgart, Germany

Join the 3rd Task 54 Experts Meeting in Stuttgart, 6-7 October 2016.

Task 56 Partners session at Advanced Building Skins conference

Five presentations from Task 56 partners will be given in Session D1 "Façade Integrated HVAC components" at the 11th Conference on Advanced Building Skins,...

German Energy Transformation Scenarios: Solar Thermal As Optional, Not Mandatory Technology for Least Cost Solutions

How much will the transformation of the German energy industry cost if it is to reach greenhouse gas emissions reductions of at least 80 % by 2050?

ISO 9806 is being revised

ISO 9806 is being revised with approval expected before end of 2016.

Levelised Cost of Heat and the Calculations behind It

The main objective of IEA SHC Task 52, Solar Thermal in Energy Supply Systems in Urban Environments, is to call attention to both the technical and economic...

Austria: Award-Winning Energy Service Company Publishes ESCO Model Fact Sheets

Energy Service Companies (ESCO) have become pioneers in the development of financing and operating models for various energy sector customers. Every two...

IEA SHC: Industry Workshop in Spain Shows Solar Cooling’s Global Opportunities

The latest R&D developments in solar cooling presented during a workshop in Madrid, Spain, on 11 April sparked great interest among the attendees from...

IEA SHC: Task 56 Kick-Off Meeting on Building Integrated Solar

Almost 30 experts from 25 partner organisations met in Bolzano, Italy, on 21 and 22 March for the kick-off meeting of IEA SHC Task 56, Building Integrated...

IEA SHC TASK 51: “Integrate Energy Perspectives into Spatial Planning of Urban Areas”

During COP21 in Paris last December, 1,000 mayors and local leaders pledged themselves to a 100 % renewable future of their municipalities by 2050.

Harmonizing Hashtags in Your Posts

Three major solar heating and cooling institutions – the European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF), the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme...

2nd experts meeting takes place in Florence, Italy from 3-4 May 2016

For more information, please see our events page.

Postponed: SHC Task 54 Workshop in Brussels, Belgium

NEW DATE: May 25th, 12:30 - 14:00, Brussels, Belgium Due to the recent events in Brussels the Organizing Committee of the ESTTP decided to postpone...

Successful start of Task 56

Summary of the meeting and interview with the Operating Agent at Solarthermalworld.org.

Task 56 Kick-off "In the News" by EURAC Research

In German language.

4th Meeting in the Global Solar Certification Network

The 4th Meeting of the Global Solar Certification Network was held in Berlin in March 2016. The revised Working Rules for the Global Solar Certification...

First Task 57 Experts meeting held in Berlin March 2016.

The First Task 57 Experts Meeting was held on March 10-11, 2016 in Berlin, Germany.

Solar Process Heat: "It all depends on the conventional heating equipment"

Dr Bastian Schmitt can look back at more than ten years of experience in the field of solar process heat. As part of his doctoral thesis, the mechanical...

Task Definition Workshop: Compact Thermal Energy Storage

Task Definition Meeting for the new IEA SHC and ECES joint Task/Annex Compact THermal Energy Storage will be held in Graz, Austria, on April 6-8, 2016.

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...

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...

Press Release: Solar Cooling Research at Your Fingertips

The best solar research results are of little use if they don't reach the intended users. To make this link easier, IEA SHC's project on Quality Assurance...

IEA SHC Task 54: 2nd Experts Meeting will take place in Florence, Italy on May 3-4, 2016

See Task 54 for more information.

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...

The Ins & Outs of Integrating Solar Heat into Industrial Processes

October 13, 2015. Solar Heat for Industrial Processes (SHIP) is an important, upcoming market for solar thermal. To support the growth of this technology...

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...

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...

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...

Solar and Heat Pump Systems for Residential Buildings

The combination of heat pumps and solar components is a recent development and has great potential for improving the energy efficiency of house and hot...

IEA SHC: Attractive Solar Process Heat Markets

The most comprehensive online database of solar process heat projects is the website www.ship-plants.info. The database was set up within Task 49 Solar...

Press Release: IEA SHC Position Paper on Net Zero Energy Buildings now online

Buildings are responsible for 40% of global primary energy use and 24% of global greenhouse gas emissions. And for this reason, architects and builders...

IEA SHC: Mutual Recognition of Test and Inspection Reports Saves Industry Costs

The work of the Global Solar Certification Network (GSC-NW) is expected to continue within the framework of the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme...

Solar Cooling Week: Sector Still Growing in Asia and Europe

Solar thermal cooling is a “small, but steadily growing market,” Dr Uli Jakob from the Green Chiller Association for Sorption Cooling pointed out in his...

IEA SHC Task 52: Seeking Cost-Optimised Urban Energy Systems

It should come as no surprise that Denmark with its large and standardised systems has the lowest costs per installed m2 of collector area. Specific costs...

SHC 2014 Conference Proceedings Available Online

Energy Procedia has published our SHC 2014 conference proceedings. Download for free over 90 papers.

IEA SHC Solar Heat Worldwide - 2015 Edition!

Annual collector yield of all systems in operation by the end of 2013 was 314 TWh (= 1,129 PJ). This equals an energy savings equivalent of 33.7 million...

Task 39: 33 New Info Sheets Posted

Task 39 has posted 33 new Info Sheets dealing with polymeric materials for solar collectors and solar storage. Check them out.

Industrial Workshop SHIP, France - 15 September 2015

The SHIP day is intended to industrial, production, energy and sustainability managers within the process industries (agro food, paper, chemistry, textile,...

8th expert meeting in Montpellier, France - 16-17 September 2015

Solar Update May 2015 Now Online

The latest issue of the IEA SHC Programme’s newsletter, Solar Update is now online. This issue has articles covering a variety to topics ranging from the...

Task 50 Newsletter Online

Check out the latest newsletter.

Solar Cooling Week in Shanghai

This is an exciting week -- Task 48 experts are holding their final Experts Meeting and Task 53 experts have an Experts Meeting. Immediately following...

New deliverables published

The Delivarables B1 (Methodologies and Software Tools for Integrating Solar Heat into Industrial Processes) and B2 (Integration Guideline) are now available

7th expert meeting in San Sebastian, Spain - 12-13 March 2015

Collection of Solar Energy and Architecture Case Studies

A free online database of 50 projects from 11 countries highlights how active and passive solar can decrease energy demand ...

Task 47 Seminar in Beijing - Presentations Now Online

The purpose of the seminar was to present the main outcomes of SHC task 47. Lectures from the four Task 47 subtasks were given and the presentations can...

Solar Update October 2014 Now Online

The latest issue of the IEA SHC Programme’s newsletter, Solar Update is now online. This issue has articles covering a variety to topics ranging from...

First results of questionnaire about methods & tools used for lighting retrofit

The online questionnaire, which was developed to analyze workflows and needs in practical retrofitting processes was closed end of June 2014 and its evaluation...

Industry Workshop on Solar Process Heat

Technology Workshop on Solar Process Heat for Industry