Introduction

Solar thermal systems are based on a simple principle known for centuries: the sun heats up water contained in a dark vessel. Solar thermal technologies are efficient and highly reliable, providing solar energy for a wide range of applications like domestic hot water and space heating in residential and commercial buildings, support to district heating, solar assisted cooling, industrial process heat, desalination and swimming pools.

Solar Domestic Hot Water and Space Heating

Even the simplest solar thermal systems can provide a large part of the domestic hot water needs. With some more initial investment, 100% of the hot water demand and a substantial share of the space heating needs can be covered with solar energy. Natural flow systems work without any need for pumps or control stations. They are widely used in Southern Europe. Forced circulation systems are more complex and can cover also space heating. They are more and more common in Central and Northern Europe.

Solar Cooling

A growing number of demonstration projects shows the huge potential for solar assisted cooling. Solar chillers use thermal energy to produce cold and/or dehumidification. When backed up by biomass boilers, 100% renewable cooling systems are possible. Solar cooling is at the edge of wide market introduction and substantial cost reductions can be expected in the next few years. The switch of peak electricity demand from winter to summer, caused by the exploding demand for cooling, is jeopardizing the stability of power supply. Peak cooling demand is associated to high solar radiation. Solar cooling will be a key answer to this challenge in the coming years.

Process Heat and Other Applications

Solar thermal can also provide the heat needed in many industrial processes, like food production and drying, desalination of drinking water, industrial laundries etc. While ordinary solar collectors typically provide temperatures of 60-100°C, concentrating collectors can reach temperatures of 300°C and beyond. In the lower temperature range unglazed solar collectors are an effective way to reduce energy demand for swimming pool heating.

Key Advantages:

Solar Thermal

• is immediately available and inexhaustible– all over Europe  and worldwide

• is proven and highly reliable

• allows system owners to save substantially on their heating bills

• creates local jobs and stimulates the local economy  

• reduces the dependency on imported fuels

• improves the diversity of energy supply

• saves scarce natural resources

• saves CO2 emissions at very low costs

 

A Growing Market

 
During the past twenty years, solar thermal markets have shown an extremely positive evolution. Often however, periods of strong growth are followed by sharp downturns, a trend which was also visible in the past two years, where an outstanding growth of 60% in 2008 was followed by a contraction of 10% in 2009.

With more than 4 million square meters of solar collectors sold in Europe in 2009 for the second year in a row, the solar thermal sector however still outperformed a market environment distinguished by struggling building industries in many European countries and the global economic crisis.

Although there is an obvious correlation between solar thermal markets, fuel prices and economic activity, the market stability in our sector remains highly affected by the diversified and inconsistent landscape that support policies for solar thermal technologies show across Europe. However, this is likely to be offset by the effect on national policies of the RES directive (2009/28/EC) implementation and also because renewable heat incentives are already firmly on the agenda in several European countries.

Reaching the critical mass for economies of scale

Today solar thermal is one of the most cost effective sources of renewable energy. People in the leading solar thermal countries benefit from higher solar value for money because reaching a critical mass of the market allows for high quality at better prices.
The potentials for further economies of scale in the areas of marketing, distribution, design and installation of the systems are substantial. In the collector manufacturing process, automation for large volumes is still in its beginnings.