Solar Heat Worldwide 2020

Report published by the International Energy Agency’s Solar Heating and Cooling Technology Collaboration Programme (IEA SHC), which provides an overall overview of the global solar thermal market development in 2019. In addition, general trends are described and detailed 2019 data on successful applications, such as solar assisted district heating, solar heat for industrial processes and hybrid photovoltaic-thermal systems, are documented. A special chapter in this year's edition deals with thermosiphon systems, which have found widespread use worldwide, especially in social housing programs.

The second part of the report presents detailed market figures for the year 2018 from the 68 surveyed countries. In addition to the installed collector areas, this includes the distribution of the collectors across various systems and applications, as well as the solar yields and avoided emissions.

According to the report solar thermal for district heating is on the rise worldwide. In Denmark, this market grew by about 170% in 2019 and other countries like China and Germany, primarily due to its improved cost-competitiveness. Market growth was also driven by the rising demand for industrial and agricultural applications. While residential water heating systems, the largest market sector, were under pressure in China and Central Europe from competing technologies, residential sales increased significantly in South Africa, Greece, Cyprus, and Brazil.