Outlook & Future of Thermal Solar

It can be assumed that solar thermal energy will have to make a greater contribution to the provision of heating and cooling in the future. The technological solution is to be found in the insufficient degree of coverage, which is mainly due to the low storage capacity of water storage tanks (Weiss/Eberl 2011). “It is therefore important to develop new energy storage facilities with higher energy densities (the aim is an energy density 8 times higher than that of water storage facilities). With such storage facilities, the low-temperature demand of buildings could be completely covered (assuming additional efficiency measures are taken). Other important future fields of application with great potential are solar air conditioning of buildings and industrial process heat
and cold.” (White/Eberl 2011)

Further developments are also taking place in the field of solar collectors themselves. On the one hand, the question arises – in view of raw material prices – of alternative materials, for example, full polymer collectors for the low-temperature range. (AEE Intec o.J. a)

Further developments can be seen in the use of coloured facade collectors in addition to the existing black absorbers. This increases the design options for architects, which in turn could lead to increased use of solar thermal systems. (AEE Intec o.J. b)