Subtask A: Final Report Presentation to ExCo June 14, 2013
June 2013 - PDF 0.41MB

Subtask A; Roadmap of Collector Testing and Certification Issues
June 2013 - PDF 1.48MB
The testing and characterization of solar thermal collectors and components have been investigated from the inception of the IEA Solar Heating & Cooling Programme. Performance test procedures and characterization equations were originally developed for typical solar collector types under well-defined standard test conditions. In addition, hort-term tests were developed to predict the long-term durability of standard collectors and systems. Presently, national and international testing laboratories in many IEA participant countries use these test procedures and characterization equations in order to determine a solar thermal product’s performance and compliance with required safety and reliability standards. Based on the test certificates issued by accepted test laboratories the products are certified by certification bodies. In order to assess and compare solar thermal products, appropriate procedures are required. These procedures should account for aspects like thermal performance, safety and durability issues.

Subtask A; White Paper on Concentrating Collectors
May 2013 - PDF 5.02MB
Editor: Les Nelson, IAPMO
This report summarizes the work carried out in the field of concentrating and tracking solar thermal collectors. The goal of this work was the introduction and validation of a test method capable of treating concentrating as well as concentrating/tracking collectors with the same accuracy as the current standard treats flat plate and evacuated tubular collectors.

Subtask A; White Paper on Low-to-Medium Temperature Collectors
May 2013 - PDF 1MB
Editor: Les Nelson, IAPMO
From 2010 through 2012, under the auspices of the EU-funded QAiST (Quality Assurance in Solar Thermal Heating and Cooling Technology) project, 12 laboratories participated in a proficiency test designed to identify the repeatability and conformity of solar testing laboratories results. One part of this effort involved low to medium temperature solar collector testing. The results of this work form an important part of the Task 43 work as it relates in international harmonization, in that examining the accuracy and repeatability of solar collector tests, as well as identifying problem areas, will lead to a good basis for harmonization.

Subtask A; White Paper on Solar Air Heating Collectors
May 2013 - PDF 1.41MB
Editor: Les Nelson, IAPMO
Although solar air heating collectors have some significant advantages in comparison to liquid heating collectors, currently they have a market share of less than 1% (Weiss, Bergmann et al. 2009) of the global solar collector market. The main advantages of using air as heat transfer medium are the absence of stagnation and freezing problems and a reduced tightness requirement. For instance, this makes it easier to integrate solar air heating collectors into façades. Commercially available air heating collector types range from unglazed collectors for space heating support at low temperatures, to high performance evacuated tube collectors with high efficiencies at increased temperatures. An important barrier for a broader use of solar air heating collectors is the lack of common standards for testing to ascertain quality and performance. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE is currently working on the development of testing standards for glazed and unglazed air collectors, the development of simulation tools to calculate solar gains of solar air heating systems as well as the improvement of solar air heating collector technology. This work is done in co-operation with industry within the project ‘Luko-E’, which is co-funded by the German ministry for the environment.