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EspañolNew Solar AiR Logos for Food Products Dried with Solar Heat Energy
Nov. 18, 2015 – The Solar Air Heating World Industries Association (SAHWIA) is pleased to announce an industry first; the inaugural set of consumer logos aimed specifically at creating awareness for food products that incorporate solar air heating in their processing. Many of the world’s crops require drying as part of their production, and solar air heating has always been an excellent renewable energy solution to reducing fossil fuel usage and creating high quality food products. Solar AiR Logos provide labeling for crops dried with solar air collectors tested to an international standard. It can also be used for buildings that are heated with solar. (more…)
Major International Labor Union Joins SAHWIA to Help Promote Solar Air Heating
September 16, 2013: As solar continues to be a “hot” growth industry in the United States and other parts of the world, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) is feeling especially buoyant about the growth potential for its members from increased use of solar air heating. To lend support to the industry, they have become members of the Solar Air Heating World Industries Association (SAHWIA) and will provide assistance to help promote the use of solar air heating, which will create installation work for their members.
Solar air heating systems are typically integrated onto a building’s wall or roof. They heat the ventilation air required in institutional, commercial, industrial and residential buildings. Solar air heating systems have a rapid ROI compared to other renewable energy technologies and have been used around the world for cold climate air heating or warm climate process heat (such as crop drying). Solar air heating systems have been widely used in the USA and Canada for over 20 years by manufacturing plants, military, agriculture, schools, multi-residential, municipal buildings, and commercial operations. They can displace up to 50% of a building’s heating load and thereby be a significant contributor to global climate change goals.
Solar air heating systems are typically installed by sheet metal contractors. This means that increased deployment in this particular solar technology directly creates employment for sheet metal workers and other similar construction trades. Increased employment has always been a positive economic objective for solar, and now SMART union members will be ready to participate in this growth by “solarizing” America’s walls and roofs.
“SMART looks forward to the partnership with SAHWIA in expanding alternative energy solutions to improve environmental conditions and increase job opportunities for our skilled members,” said General President Joe Nigro.
About International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers
SMART was formed with the merger of the United Transportation Union and the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association It is an international labor union with membership in the AFL-CIO and the Canadian Labour Congress, providing policy direction and program support on behalf of its membership in maintaining the union’s jurisdiction over various types of work in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Sheet metal members perform work in the building and construction trades, in production manufacturing, railroad shops, and shipyards. Transportation members are in railroad, bus, transit and airline operations. SMART provides apprenticeship and upgrade training through its160 training centers. For more information visit www.smart-union.org.
About Solar Air Heating World Industries Association
SAHWIA is the industry association representing the companies engaged in the manufacturing, marketing, installation and sales of solar air heating technologies across Europe and in North America. Its mandate is to promote public awareness on 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 also ensures that solar air collectors are tested to the relevant test standards. For more information on solar air heating, visit www.solarairheating.org or contact info@solarairheating.org
Press Contact:
Bill Butler
bbutler@smart-union.org
Victoria Hollick
vhollick@sahwia.org
Solar Air Heating World Industries Association Appoints Executive Director
Madrid, Spain: July 27, 2012 – The Solar Air Heating World Industries Association (SAHWIA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Cecile Tabarot to the position of Executive Director effective June 1st. Ms. Tabarot will direct SAHWIA’s efforts from the new European office in Madrid Spain.
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
Europe Will Not Meet 20% Renewable Energy Target by 2020
Europe will not be able to meet its obligation to supply 20% of its energy from renewable energy by 2020, states John Hollick, CEO of SolarWall Europe, Sarl. and Chairman of the Solar Air Heating World Industries Association (SAHWIA) due to an error in definition made by the European Parliament.
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.
SAHWIA Meetings
The inaugural SAHWIA meeting took place in Munich on May 26, 2009 and was well attended by industry members from many countries including Australia, Canada, USA and various European countries.
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.
