Technology Position Papers

As photovoltaic (PV) system costs dramatically reduce, they are becoming economically viable as a technology to replace gas, grid electricity, and even solar thermal collectors as an energy source for low-temperature heating applications. The pairing of PV electricity with domestic water heating represents an under-explored—but rapidly emerging—opportunity for innovation, self-sufficiency, and sustainable modernization. In some regions, the household domestic hot water demand is over 50% of total household energy consumption. Thus, at the residential scale, the road to a low-carbon future must include sustainable solutions for domestic hot water.

This position paper provides an overview of solar strategies for neighborhood planning, outlining their importance, potential, and development. It addresses issues for policy and decision makers, other stakeholders, and influencers and presents high-level information as a basis for the uptake and further development of this application. It concludes by highlighting existing challenges and the actions needed to best utilize solar radiation in urban environments.

Solar Heat for Industrial Processes (SHIP) has enormous potential in industrial decarbonization, addressing the industrial sector’s total final low and medium temperature heat consumption, corresponding to 12% of the total final energy demand worldwide. The major share of the energy needed in this sector is used for heating and cooling production processes at temperatures up to 400 °C and is almost exclusively provided with fossil fuels, as shown in Figure 1. SHIP technologies are market-ready to significantly reduce CO2 emissions in these applications using non-concentrating solar thermal collectors (up to 150 °C) and concentrating collectors (up to 400 °C). Solar applications for even higher temperatures are under development but not the subject of this paper.

This position paper provides an overview of the compact thermal energy storage technologies market, outlining its importance, potential, and development. It addresses policy, decision makers, and influencers and aims to present high-level information as a basis for uptake and further development. It concludes by highlighting actions needed to further exploit thermal energy storages with minimal space requirements and accelerate more efficient energy systems, including sector coupling, with a higher share of renewables.

This position paper provides an overview of the solar energy market for industrial water and wastewater management, outlining its importance, potential, and development of this new application area. It addresses issues for policy and decision makers and influencers and presents high-level information as a basis for the uptake and further development of these applications. It concludes by highlighting existing challenges and the actions needed to best exploit environmentally friendly technologies for water management and
recovery of valuable substances.

This position paper provides an overview of the lighting technologies market for non-residential buildings, outlining its importance, potential, and development. It addresses issues for policy- and decision-makers and other stakeholders aiming to support the implementation of energy-efficient, sustainable, and integrated and integrative lighting solutions. It concludes by highlighting existing challenges and the actions needed to best exploit energy efficiency and decarbonization opportunities.

This position paper explains the relevance, potential and current status of large-scale solar thermal heating and cooling systems, including large-scale heat pumps and seasonal storages, leading to actions needed to further and best exploit their integration in district heating and cooling networks. It addresses policy and decision-makers as well as influencers and aims to present high-level information as a basis for uptake and further development.

This position paper explains the relevance, potential and the current status of the development and market of hybrid PVT collectors and system concepts, leading to actions needed to best exploit this technology that combines solar photovoltaic collection and thermal energy production. It addresses policy and decision makers as well as influencers and aims to present high-level information as a basis for uptake and further development.

This position paper explains the relevance, potential and present status of development and market of building solar envelope systems contributing to HVAC and lighting of buildings, leading to actions needed to best exploit their integration into building design practices. It addresses policy and decisionmakers as well as influencers and aims to present high-level information as a basis for uptake and further development.
 

The number of solar thermal installations has been declining in the past years, while photovoltaic solar energy use has been booming. This trend stands in opposition to the fact that the need for domestic hot water is steadily increasing worldwide. To strengthen the competitiveness and market uptake of solar thermal applications, Task 54 of the International Energy Agency’s Solar Heating and Cooling Technology Collaboration Programme (IEA SHC) investigated the entire solar thermal value chain with respect to technical and non-technical cost reduction potentials and ways to make the technology more attractive to the end-user.

Solar Heat for Industrial Processes (SHIP) is at the early stages of development but is considered to have enormous potential for solar thermal applications. The industrial sector accounts for approximately 30% of the total energy consumption  in OECD countries. And, the major share of the energy needed in this sector is used for heating and cooling buildings and production processes at temperatures from ambient up to approximately 350°C. This is a temperature range that can be addressed with solar thermal technologies.
 

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the relevance and importance of standardization and certification in the field of solar thermal products – and to show the benefits of harmonizing standardization and certification at the international level.
 

Daylight plays a key role in providing a good visual, biologically effective and energy efficient lighting of indoor spaces. Generally, daylight is the light source preferred by humans. Daylight is the major source of regenerative energy for reducing lighting energy consumption. Electric lighting accounts for approximately 15% of the total electrical power consumption and 5% of greenhouse gas worldwide. In nonresidential construction, daylighting – based on distinct evaluation procedures and integrated into diverse energy saving ordinances – has meanwhile become an energy-quantifiable and plannable light source that can be directly offset against the energy requirements for electrical lighting.
 

The purpose of this paper is to provide relevant information to energy policymakers so that they can understand why and how solar cooling and air-conditioning (SAC) systems should be supported and promoted. It presents state of the art solar thermal and photovoltaic supported solar heating and cooling systems. In addition, it provides a comprehensive summary of the main findings as provided by the IEA SHC Task 53 work .