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Solar water heating (SWH) is heating water by sunlight, using a solar thermal collector. A variety of configurations are available at varying cost to provide solutions in different climates and latitudes. SWHs are widely used for residential and some industrial applications.[1][2]
A Sun-facing collector heats a working fluid that passes into a storage system for later use. SWH are active (pumped) and passive (convection-driven). They use water only, or both water and a working fluid. They are heated directly or via light-concentrating mirrors. They operate independently or as hybrids with electric or gas heaters.[3] In large-scale installations, mirrors may concentrate sunlight into a smaller collector.[original research?]
As of 2017, global solar hot water (SHW) thermal capacity is 472 GW and the market is dominated by China, the United States and Turkey.[4] Barbados, Austria, Cyprus, Israel and Greece are the leading countries by capacity per person.[4]
- ^ "Solar Collectors ...Behind the Glass | Home Power Magazine". 2013-01-28. Archived from the original on 2013-01-28. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
- ^ "Solar Water Heating". www.nrel.gov. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
- ^ Brian Norton (2011) Solar Water Heaters: A Review of Systems Research and Design Innovation, Green. 1, 189–207, ISSN (Online) 1869-8778
- ^ a b "Renewables Global Status Report". REN21. Retrieved 11 May 2019.