Where relevant, the source document for the definition is indicated in brackets. auxiliary energy consumption, combined see combined auxiliary energy consumption auxiliary heat source source of heat, other than solar, used to supplement the output provided by the solar heating system (ISO 9488:1999); in French, energie d’appoint; in German, Zusatzenergie auxiliary, long-running-time see long-running-time auxiliary […]

Jean-Marc Suter, Ulrike Jordan and Dagmar Jaehnig This vocabulary lists a number of terms used in this handbook, with their definition, symbol, physical units and comments. These terms were selected according to the following criteria: • some of the terms are not commonly used • other terms are common but their precise interpretation is less […]

Compiled by Peter Kovdcs Within IEA SH&C Task 26 a comparatively large number of experts in this field have been working together. The amount of accumulated knowledge is extensive and the essence of it has been made available in this handbook. Nevertheless, there are huge amounts of background material available to those interested, some of […]

The standards for collectors and factory-made systems EN 12975-1 &2 and EN 12976-1&2, as described in Sections 10.2.1 and 10.3 respectively, will serve as the basis for a European certificate for solar thermal products. At the time of publication, the European Solar Industry Federation ESTIF and 13 test institutions representing 11 European countries are working […]

The DC (Direct Characterization) test method offers a second way of characterizing solar combisystems, especially factory-made systems. DC tests are carried out at an indoor test facility. Solar input is generated by means of a solar simulator and the actual collector or by a heater simulating the solar collector. In the latter case, collector parameters […]

For determination of the thermal performance of small custom-built systems according to ENV 12977-2, the CTSS (Component Testing – System Simulation) method has to be used. The CTSS method is based on separate tests of the most important components (see Figure 10.3). The test for the collector is carried out according to EN 12975—2. The […]

The DST method can be applied for solar domestic hot water systems with and without auxiliary heating. It is therefore the most relevant test method for ‘typical’ factory-made solar heating systems used in northern and central Europe. The aim of the DST test is to determine a set of parameters, giving a detailed description of […]

The CSTG test method is based on a simple ‘input/output’ correlation and can only be applied for solar domestic hot water systems without auxiliary heating devices in the store. This method is standardized in ISO 9459-2. Since solar heating systems of this type are rare in northern and central Europe, the CSTG test procedure is […]