Energy The Solar Thermal Market, Industry Trends & Technology in Germany for small solar systems Jan Knaack Project Manager Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft e.v. Stralauer Platz 34 10243 Berlin knaack@bsw-solar.de
German Solar Industry Association TASK VISION ACTIVITIES EXPERIENCE MEMBERS HEADQUARTERS To represent the German solar industry in the solar thermal energy and photovoltaics sectors A global sustainable energy supply provided by solar energy Lobbying, political advice, public relations, market observation, standardization Active in the solar energy sector since 30 years More than 700 solar producers, suppliers, wholesalers, installers and other companies active in the solar business Berlin
Why renewable energies? Very good reasons to change our energy supply system ENERGY SUPPLY IS NOT SECURE Energy import dependency from only a few countries is growing strongly FOSSIL AND NUCLEAR ENERGY SOURCES ARE FINITE Growing demand and limited resources lead to exploding energy prices CLIMATE CHANGE REQUIRES ACTION Climate change is mainly caused by fossil energy consumption, we have to reduce CO 2 - emissions worldwide Brent Crude Oil price increased from 50 $ (Jan 2007) to 147 $ (July 2008) per barrel and falls again to 40 $ CO 2 -Concentration is growing continuously (IPCC 2007)
Renewable energies in the world 2009 Source: IEA-SHC Solar Heat Worldwide, Edition 2010, www.iea-shc.org
World market for solar thermal systems 2008: 39.5 Mio m 2 newly installed Source: Werner B. Koldehoff China: Market leader (simple, cheap systems) Europa: Technology leader
Market Size: approx. 4 Mio. m² European Solar Thermal Market 2009
Development of the German ST market Market Data Solar Thermal in Germany 2009 Newly installed collector area 1.615 Mio sqm Total installed collector area 12.915 Mio sqm Growth 2009/2010-23% No. of total systems installed 1.4 Million Turnover 2009* ca. 1.2 bn Employees* 20,000 (Source: BSW-Solar) * Preliminary figures 2400 2200 2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 Annually installed collector area [1 000 m²] BSW-Solar Flat plate Evacuated tube
Status of the Use of Solar Thermal Energy Mainly in use in Europe: solar domestic hot water systems Growing share of combined systems for DHW and room heating support in Central Europe (Austria, Germany, France) The number of collective systems for multi family houses, hotels, hospitals etc. is growing Plastic absorber for swimming pools are in use in Central Europe Several solar district heating systems with and without seasonal storage are used in Central and Northern Europe Some pilot plants for process heating Some pilot plants for solar thermal assisted cooling are installed in Europe
Typical data for Germany (4-person household) Forced circulation 5-6m² collector area 300-400 l. solar storage tank Costs ~ 4,000 5,000 Domestic Hot Water Production Market share in Germany: 45% Image: Schüco Flat-plate or vacuum tube collector Image: Paradigma Solar station with controls and circulation pump Cold water inlet Water storage tank Condensing boiler oli, gas new: wood pellets rarely: elec. power
Solar Thermal Combined System Market share in Germany: 55% Image: Roto Frank Flat-plate or vacuum tube collector Solar station with controls and circulation pump Combined solar thermal system for DHW and auxiliary room heating 8-15 m² collector area 500-1,000 litres combined storage Costs ~ 10,000 15,000 Forced circulation system Buffer storage Dom. hot water storage Boiler Heating circuits Cold water inlet Image: Paradigma
From DHC-system to the Solar Active Home Domestic Hot Water 10%-20% Combined Hot Water / Heating System 20%-30% Solar home 50+ Building heated mainly with solar energy 50% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 100% Source: G. Stryi-Hipp Percentage of heat production of heating need of the building
Concept of the Solar home Solarcollectors 30m² - 60m² Seasonal heat storage 10 m³ Solar coverage of DHW and space heating: 60% - 70%
Key technology: collector manufacturing Bluetec Sputtered selective absorber Ultrasonic or laser welding Wagner & Co Collector design Wagner & Co Growing automation in production GreenOneTec
Attractive / high efficiency collectors Hybrid Collector (PV/ST) Evacuated tube collector Flat plate collector Image: Paradigma Image: SolarHybrid Air collector Image: Grammer Image: Wagner & Co
Innovative Components in the Solar Circuit Integrated tubes for the solar circuit: solar supply and return with sensor line within a UV resistant thermal insulation Examples with copper pipes and stainless steel flexible tubes Solarflex Aeroline tube systems Improved pump for the solar circuit: 80% reduction of electricity consumption Integration of additional functions: pressure sensor etc. Wilo
Innovative Solar Controller Technology Controllers play an important role for providing high solar yields. German manufacturers have a long experience in producing matured and reliable controllers Heat meter (left) Flow meter (right) Resol Connection diagram
Innovative Solar Heating Technology: Oil/Gas-Burner integrated in the storage tank burner solar collector and circuit standpipe solar heat exchanger Solvisl schematic drawing sectional drawing Stratified storage tank with solar heat exchanger at the bottom and oil/gas-burner at the top
Quality control and testing of components To be supported by the German support scheme solar collectors have to fullfill certain technical norms: Solar Keymark EN 12975 Collector efficiency of at least 525 KW/h under certain testing conditions Strict quality requirements and control lead to produce a reliable source of heat Image KBB-Kolektorbaul
Attractive applications for small systems: Roof integrated collector Viessmann
Attractive components for large systems: Facade integrated collectors Schüco Schüco
Innovative architecture Well insulated houses covering 100 % of their heating need! Source: Geiger Source: Friedl
German quality products for hot & moderate climate zones High quality thermosiphon systems Double coating DHW-storage Electric support heater Water Hot water exit Cold water entry Source: Schüco Solar fluid Protective glass Selective Absorber Insulation material Flowback tube Product features: 150 300 l storage tank 2 5 m² collector area ground or roof mounted installation Intelligent design to prevent stagnation & overheating Easy to install & high efficiency
To sum up: Solar Thermal Innovations Stratified, seasonal, and latent heat storage tanks Anti-reflective collector glass Sputter process for absorber coating New collector types (improved functionality and design) Improved piping connecting collectors and storage tanks Control system technology, heat transfer fluids, solar pumping Solar cooling, high-temperature collectors Targets Higher solar fraction of heat supply in buildings Higher efficiency at lower costs Improved integration into the heating system and the building envelope
Technology is one market success factor, others are: Interest from the public Is growing due to climate change, resource shortages, increasing energy prices Solar Awareness Raising Campaigns Stable market deployment instruments Subsidy programs, solar ordinance Solar energy market offers Solar and heating companies must offer solar thermal systems actively Commitment from installers Installers have to offer solar systems actively, they must be well trained
Conclusions German solar companies can look back on a long experience in solar thermal technology development and applications Solar thermal is an innovative technology and many promising market segments are just about to become economically interesting We still have to raise the awareness for the potential of solar thermal technology, world wide! Source: Solvis Source: ITW
Thank you very much for your attention!