Architecturally appealing solar thermal systems - A marketing tool in order to attract new market segments
IEA-SHC Task 39 INFO Sheet A6
May 2015 - PDF 0.38MB
Architectural integration is a major issue in the development and dissemination of solar thermal technology. Unfortunately, the architectural quality of integrated solar thermal systems in many existing buildings is poor, which often discourages potential new users. Because solar thermal systems are relatively large in relation to the building envelope, the architectural quality of their integration has a major impact on the visual quality of the building. This should, together with the fact that public acceptance of solar energy to a high extent depends on the quality of the architectural integration, stimulate and motivate a much stronger focus on making solar thermal systems visually appealing– something people really would want to put on their houses and something architects would want to implement in their design of new buildings.

Architectural Integration of Solar Thermal Energy Systems
Task 39
January 2014

--- This database presents a range of buildings where solar thermal energy systems have been successfully integrated in the architecture. The core element of a solar thermal installation is solar collectors that convert the energy in sunlight directly into usable heat. These collectors can be aesthetically integrated with the building envelope or they can be mounted onto a building. Solar thermal installations have high energy capacity, and end users therefore benefit of an attractive pay back on their investment.

Towards an improved architectural quality of building integrated solar thermal systems (BIST)
Solar Energy 81 (2007) 1104–1116
June 2007
--- Architectural integration is a major issue in the development and spreading of solar thermal technologies. Yet the architectural quality of most existing building integrated solar thermal systems (BIST) is quite poor, which often discourages potential new users. In this paper, the results of a large web survey on architectural quality, addressed to more than 170 European architects and other building professionals are presented and commented ...