The international solar air collector industry is optimistic about the future. The demand for solar-heated air is rising, as is the number of manufacturers and collector models. The integration of air collectors into international standards for solar collectors will soon be complete.

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SAHWIA is the industry association representing companies engaged in manufacturing, marketing, installation and sales of solar air heating systems around the world.  Its mandate is to promote public awareness of the benefits, applications, and necessity of solar air heating, as well as to help develop the government policies and programs required to support and accelerate the widespread use of solar air heating throughout the world.

SAHWIA also administers the Solar-A-Mark, which is a quality assurance certification designed to guarantee high quality systems in the marketplace. It ensures that solar air collectors are tested to the relevant test standard, such as CSA F378.2 and the upcoming EN 12975-2 / ISO 9806

Solar air heating systems produce one of the fastest ROI’s of any solar technology and have been widely used around the world for over 25-years (such as North America where fresh air ventilation is the norm).  As construction technologies improved and buildings became more airtight, European Norm #13779 was established to mandate the required fresh air ventilation rate for buildings.  Solar air pre-heating or space heating will provide a significant contribution in terms of reducing the cost of heating this air and the use of fossil fuels.

Ms Tabarot is a lawyer by training with a background in the building construction industry.   While working in the building industry, she recognized firsthand the contribution that solar air heating could deliver in order to achieve the EU’s 2020 renewable energy usage goal.

Speaking on the importance of SAWHIA’s mandate, John Hollick, Chairman of the Board, said: “Heating of buildings is one of the largest sources of CO2 emissions in the commercial, industrial and government building sectors. Europe will be unable to meet its 20% Renewable Energy Target by 2020 with the current policy strategies because there is no cost effective mechanism in place to target space and process heating. Solar air heating has a vital role to play in the renewable energy mix, and it represents an option that is significantly more cost-effective than other on-site renewable energy systems, as confirmed by clients such as Auchan, Ford, Jaguar, Bombardier as well as hundreds of municipalities.”

Press Contact: Cecile Tabarot

By: Baerbel Epp

2010 was a good year for the solar thermal industry in Canada. The total newly installed collector area (brown line) grew by 54 %, from 129,418 to 199,491 m2. Air collector sales (red line) doubled and – for the first – overtook the solar swimming pool market (blue line), which is more or less stagnating. With 150 %, the segment of glazed solar water collectors (pink line) experienced the highest growth, although the 20,000 m2 sold in 2010 make it still a low-level market.
Source: NRCan

This time, the annual Survey of Active Solar Thermal Collectors, Industry and Markets in Canada 2010 published by National Resources Canada (NRCan) can show off some superlatives: Total collector sales, including domestic and export, amounted to 252,146 m2, finally exceeding 200,000 m2 . The same picture with the collector area in operation: it has now surpassed 1 million. According to the NRCan statistics, there were 1,033,864 m² of collector area in operation in the country by the end of 2010.

The survey included the filled-in questionnaires from 29 companies in Canada. “However, only 21 companies responded in both years, with eight companies dropping out, and eight new ones added,” the study’s author Dr Reda Djebbar from Natural Resources Canada names a weak point in the study’s conclusions, which makes comparisons between two different years somewhat difficult.

And, what about the forecast for 2011? A majority of the companies still anticipate growing sales in the near future. “However, there is a strong polarisation in the industry, with larger companies being pessimistic, and smaller companies showing optimism,” Djebbar analyses in the study. The author sees a pessimistic mood on the rise in the Canadian solar thermal industry: “The number of companies expecting either no growth or a decline has increased from 0% in 2007 to 20% in 2008, 26% in 2009 and then to 36% in 2010”. The planned end of the ecoEnergy for Renewable Heat programme in March 2011 contributes to the pessimistic forecast of some industry players. The solar pool heating market, on the other hand, has been unaffected by the lack of subsidies.

Another event which has recently weakened the solar thermal market: the elections in the province of Ontario in October 2011. Re-elected Ontario Prime Minister Dalton McGuinty had announced during his campaign that the feed-in tariff for solar electricity would continue under the Green Energy Act, which means that Ontario’s solar thermal industry will keep staying in the shadow of photovoltaics. This has a strong influence on the market, because Ontario has been the market leader among the provinces, reporting 55 % of all sales (by revenue) in 2010.

Still, Canada has established itself as the world leader in solar air heating usage. The largest air collector manufacturer in the country, Conserval Engineering, pointed out earlier this year, “that it is a big mistake in the European legislation not to consider solar air heating systems as a renewable heating technology”. Apparently, the European Renewable Energy Directive (RED) 2009/28/EC actually excludes solar air heating units from the list of approved solar technologies. “The error came to light when the UK government recently introduced its Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), which specifically excluded solar air heating,” Conserval explained in a press release in July 2011. Greg Barker, Great Britain´s Minister of State from the Department of Energy and Climate Change, is quoted in the press release, saying: “The RHI will only include technologies which the European Commission considers to be renewable under the RED.”

• F378.1, Glazed and unglazed liquid heating solar collectors
• F378.2, Air heating solar collectors

1. glazed closed-loop recirculated air heating solar collectors;
2. unglazed closed-loop recirculated air heating solar collectors;
3. glazed open-loop ambient air heating solar collectors; and
4. unglazed open-loop ambient air heating solar collectors.

The operations of buildings – heating, powering and cooling them – account for the largest source of GHG emissions, which helps to explain the rationale for the European Union’s 20% Renewable Energy Target.
In an inexplicable turn of events, Europe’s Renewable Energy Directive has actively excluded solar air heating from its list of approved solar technologies, despite the fact that it addresses the largest usage of building energy in many countries, which is indoor space and process heating.

The exclusion is even more perplexing given that solar air heating technologies produce the fastest ROI of any solar technology and have been widely used in countries and applications around the world, including a very strong concentration in Canada and the USA, for the past 20 years for clients such as Sainsbury, Auchan, Wal-Mart, Ford, Jaguar/Land Rover, Toyota, and the United States Military.

The error came to light when the UK government recently introduced its Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) which specifically excluded solar air heating. When the omission was brought to the attention of Greg Barker, Minister of State for Green Energy including Heat and RHI, his department responded with: “The primary objective of the RHI is to encourage the installation of renewable heating equipment and generation of renewable heat in order to meet the UK’s share of the EU 2020 renewable energy target. Therefore, the RHI will only include technologies which the European Commission considers to be renewable under the RED.”

The implication is that the UK and the rest of Europe will be unable to meet their 20% Renewable Energy Target by 2020 because they have no mechanism in place now to target space heating in the commercial, industrial and agricultural sectors.
As well, solar electric (PV) and solar water heating systems are considerably more expensive and produce less energy in comparison to solar air heating systems, so the decision to exclude a solar energy technology that is significantly more cost-effective for end user clients is difficult to understand, especially in an era of tight budgets and fiscal restraint.

It also contradicts the stated objectives of the UK’s RHI: “We need to work hard to remove the barriers holding back take-up…This support can help drive take-up of renewables now, stimulate the renewables industry, encourage further innovation and ultimately bring down the cost of renewable heating.”

Unfortunately the RHI will do the opposite. “Viable solar air heating systems are being excluded in lieu of more expensive water base heating systems just because they are on the “list”. As well as stifling innovation and preventing the widespread uptake in solar heating, this decision will ensure that the UK will be unable to meet their stated renewable energy targets because they are relying on expensive technologies that don’t address one of the largest usages of energy” states Hollick.

The UK Dept of Energy & Climate Change has introduced a Renewable Heat Incentive and it has a major flaw in that it excludes solar air heating and especially transpired solar collectors.

Below are a few sections from the RHI report with comments on them in italics.

Summary
The Government will take a phased approach to implementing the RHI. Initially, in the first phase, long-term tariff support will be targeted at the big emitters in the non-domestic sector. This sector, which covers everything from large-scale industrial heating to small business and community heating projects, will provide the vast majority of the renewable heat needed to meet our targets and represents the most cost-effective way of increasing the level of renewable heat. The Government therefore wants to provide support now in order to kick-start take-up in this sector.
These buildings are heated with air and heating water first to heat air is not cost effective.

Page 10 – The first phase of RHI tariffs will only support the non-domestic sectors. These sectors represent the most cost-effective way of delivering renewable heat, which will help us meet our renewables targets and reduce carbon emissions. We therefore want to introduce support now so installations can start being built.
Excluding solar air heating and transpired collectors contradicts this statement.

P 34 – Technologies supported
We will only provide incentives for technologies which are in commercial use in the UK.
SolarWall is in commercial use in UK and likely has more square metres of collectors in use for heating industrial buildings than solar water collectors – see http://www.CAGroup.ltd.uk

P 37 – Solar thermal
Solar thermal technologies collect heat from the sun onto a collector which transfers the heat energy to a working liquid. This liquid can then be used directly to provide hot water within a building, or an exchanger can transfer the heat from the working liquid to the water.
Solar thermal panels (liquid filled flat plate or evacuated tube solar collectors) will be eligible for support.
Air panels are not eligible even though air in buildings can be solar heated directly and not via expensive solar water panels and heat exchangers.
Government is picking winners and losers as they are supporting only expensive solar technologies and excluding lower cost solar air systems

P 40 – Direct air heating
Technologies which deliver renewable heat directly through hot/warm air will not be supported in the RHI from the outset. This means technologies such as ground or water source to air heat pumps; biomass kilns; furnaces; ovens and air heaters will not be able to claim the RHI. We will, however, look at whether and how these technologies could be included in the RHI from 2012.
There are a number of reasons for not including these technologies from the start of the scheme, which are primarily practical. Our methodology is to meter the heat generated and pay the RHI on that basis, however, there are practical difficulties with metering direct air heating, rather than water and steam. Furthermore, there is insufficient evidence of the costs of these technologies on which to base the RHI tariffs.
Conserval is monitoring solar air systems around the world and other governments (USA, Canada, France etc) are able to monitor solar air systems.

P 42 – Technologies and fuels excluded from the scheme
Transpired solar thermal panels
A small number of stakeholders have argued that direct air heating or transpired solar panels should be supported under the RHI. These technologies will not be included as they are not counted as a renewable technology under the RED.
How can solar heating of air not be a renewable technology?
This is the most damming statement for the Minister and if left as is, and it will certainly come back to haunt him. SolarWall is the most cost effective solar thermal technology for heating buildings currently available and it is being manufactured and sold in UK and in many other countries.

By John Hollick, CEO
Conserval Engineering Inc, SolarWall

A strategy for achieving a vision of widespread low-temperature solar thermal installations was first explored by ESTTP in 2006, but since then the SRA has identified key areas for rapid growth. *Continued*

Read the full article at RenewableEnergyWorld.com

This is something that should perplex economists and taxpayers alike.

The C.D. Howe Institute identifies that the lowest-cost and highest-value programs are the “Renewable Heat and Power Technologies,” which include solar air heating, solar water heating, solar electricity, wind and biomass. The cost to the government (and therefore taxpayers) to displace one ton of CO2 from any of these technologies ranges from CAN $4 per ton (for solar air heating) to CAN $30 per ton (for biomass). In stark contrast, the most expensive government programs were for liquid biofuels; these cost taxpayers CAN $295 to $430/ton of CO2 displaced from ethanol and CAN $122 to $175/ton of CO2 displaced from biodiesel.

The graphs below summarize the cost in Canadian dollars to offset one ton of CO2 from each of the different “green” energy options. It is important to note that the analysis and conclusions were based on the existing Canadian programs, but the findings have universal relevance because they expose the basic cost / benefit realities of the different renewable energy options.

Some Facts on the Real Breakdown of Energy Usage

These graphs highlight that the most cost-effective form of CO2 abatement is from solar, and specifically the lowest cost option to governments is from unglazed solar air heating technologies. Solar air heating systems heat ventilation and indoor air, which also happens to be the largest — typically overlooked — usage of energy in any heating or mid-latitude climate. (For more information on this topic, see my previous article on RenewableEnergyWorld.com)

In Canada, here are some relevant facts to consider on the actual production of CO2:

• In 2006, a total of 721 MT (million metric tons) of CO2 were produced in Canada.
• 217 MT were from thermal energy sources for space and process heating in the manufacturing/industrial, services and residential sectors. This is the largest single source of CO2 in Canada.
• Transportation was responsible for 159 MT
• Electricity production for 113 MT

With respects to the 217 MT of CO2 produced from heating: Thermal heating generates over 30% of the CO2 emissions in Canada yet it receives approximately 1% of the money allocated by the federal government to GHG mitigation. It is also interesting to note that even in a city such as NYC, which has the densest concentration of electricity usage in the world, 51% of the energy required in buildings is for heating.

This means that widespread CO2 reductions are not going to be achievable unless the appropriate programs are put in place to address this large source of CO2.

The C.D. Howe Report states:

Federal programs to support renewable heat are currently limited even though heat-related energy applications — such as residential and commercial space and hot water heating and thermal energy for industrial processes — account for the largest proportion of demand for fossil fuel energy in Canada, as in other industrialized countries, and, therefore, represent a very large opportunity for the mitigation of GHG emissions. So far, only $36 million in federal funding is designated for capital cost incentives for renewable heat in the industrial, commercial and institutional sectors through the ecoENERGY for Renewable Heat program.” [Emphasis mine]

So what does this mean?

Simply stated, for all the governments that are crafting climate change policies and programs — and who wish their programs to actually be successful at both maximizing CO2 displacement and doing it in a cost effective manner — this report provides the rationale as to why it is essential to direct more funds to renewable heating. Given that there are solar heating technologies on the market that can displace up to 50% of the heating load, the potential for igniting meaningful CO2 emission reductions from this one sector is incredible.

Governments must clearly navigate through the maze of misinformation that tends to plague discussions on energy and recognize the true origins of CO2 emissions and the real costs associated with the myriad of displacement options. They must then commit to allocating real resources and to developing real mechanisms to target the thermal heating component, given that it offers the most compelling cost/benefit analysis when compared against all the other “green” energy solutions. This is a strategy that will offer not only “good value” for cash-conscious governments and taxpayers, but for the entire environmental movement. There are some staggering quantities of CO2 reductions that governments around the world have committed to and there are clearly substantial fiscal and budgetary implications for generations to come between solutions that cost under $5/ton or $10-30 a ton; and those that cost hundreds of dollars per ton of CO2 displaced. The C.D. Howe Report makes clear where taxpayer money should be spent to get the biggest CO2 bang for each buck spent.

Victoria Hollick is the President of Conserval Systems (SolarWall USA) of Buffalo NY, which has been instrumental in commercializing and promoting solar air heating around the world for the commercial & industrial sector with the SolarWall® air heating technologies. Victoria has had a life-long interest in solar, and became further interested in effecting environmental and renewable energy policy while completing a graduate degree in economics. She is also on the Board of Directors of the New York Solar Energy Industry Association (NYSEIA) and the Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA).

*And as a final caveat to the C.D. Howe report, which was focused on Canada, Victoria would like to point out that while drastically increasing the support for solar heating is a necessity to cost-effectively reduce GHG emissions across the globe, at least Canada should be strongly commended for having a specific national solar thermal program in place. This program has been successful in terms of building an industry and has spawned Canadian innovation in the field of solar air and water heating technologies.

View original article on RenewableEnergyWorld.com

A new draft test standard for Solar Air Heating panels was prepared and was sent to the technical committee of SAHWIA.
In December 2009, the Canadian members and a German company attended a meeting in Toronto and initiated a Canadian Solar Air Heating working group to address the issues of uniform standards and product approvals. Following that meeting, the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) became involved and CSA has now taken over the approval and certification process for solar thermal collectors and is in the process of completing the draft test standard for solar air collectors. A public review of the new draft standard is planned for summer 2010.