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Sun & Wind Energy 6/201042
Solar thermal thermoSIPhoNIC SYStemS
The manufacturers of thermosiphonic systems were badly hit by the economic crisis in 2009. Although the industry had been accustomed to
success in previous years and had posted consistent-ly high profits, many companies failed to increase their turnover last year. That is the outcome of a market sur-vey conducted by SUN & WIND ENERGY in April, in which 50 companies from all over the world took part. The mood in the solar thermal industry is currently not as good as it could be. A detailed analysis is provided by the new Solrico Thermal Index (see page 62).
Nevertheless, 53 % of companies in the ther-mosiphonic system segment still managed to moder-ately increase their turnover by up to 20 % in the cri-sis year (see Fig. 1). Four manufacturers even stated that they had increased solar water heater sales by more than 50 % in 2009. These were mainly Chinese manufacturers. It was predominantly European com-panies that faced stagnation or losses.
Nevertheless, the European countries remain the most important markets for the surveyed companies.
S&WE has surveyed manufacturers of thermosiphonic systems from
all over the world, and after the crisis year of 2009 it seems that most
companies now expect the markets to start growing again this year.
Optimism predominates
Thermosiphonic systems for social houses: a future trend? Chromagen has already realised several projects such as here in Mexico. Photo: Chromagen
In response to the question about the three most im-portant markets, Spain and Italy were named 17 times, followed by Mexico and Portugal with seven mentions. The importance of Europe is also reflected by the fact that that most of the companies taking part in the survey come from Europe, with 22 repre-sentatives. In previous years, the Greeks always had the highest representation in the S&WE thermosi-phonic overviews. This time they were overtaken by the Chinese with 10 participants, while six compa-nies came from Greece and five from Italy. Other well-represented countries include India and Germany, which both had four companies in the survey, fol-lowed by Turkey, Mexico and Brazil, each of which had three companies.
S&WE also asked about which countries showed the largest growth in thermosiphonic system sales in 2009. Besides Mexico, Portugal, Italy and Spain, Tunisia was also one of the countries mentioned most of all (see Fig. 2). Another country that until now has not been particularly known for its strong solar ther-
Sun & Wind Energy 6/2010 43
mal market is Chile. But several firms were able to achieve considerable growth there, as was also the case in South Africa.
Emerging markets in the Middle East and Africa
What are the expectations for the current year? Only one company expects a drop in sales (see Fig. 1). And only a few expect stagnation. On the contrary, more than 80 % of the companies surveyed expect things to considerably pick up again in 2010.
Frederico Dantas, Chief Operating Officer at the Brazilian manufacturer Tuma Industrial, is one of those expecting “a little market stagnation in 2010” in the worldwide solar thermal market. “But we be-lieve there will be strong new growth in 2011.” Muhammad Saeed, consultant at the Pakistan com-pany Solar Geyser (Pvt.) Limited, shares his opinion: “We think that, worldwide, solar water heating sys-tem installations will increase day by day due to their improved efficiency and ease of use.” Chaitanya Yardi, Director of Marketing at NRG Technologists Pvt. Ltd. from India, believes that there will be rapid growth in both the retail and industrial sector in India. José Raphael Bicas Franco, International Sales Direc-tor at Soletrol Indústria e Comércio Ltda in Brazil, adds: “We expect growth in the solar thermal market after the crisis, and mainly in the developing coun-tries.”
And Marco Guaitini, Senior Product Manager for Solar Thermal at Italy’s largest heating technology company, Ariston Thermo S.p.A., believes that the growth in the thermosiphonic market will not be with-out limitations: “In Europe the share is decreasing: although the penetration of solar thermal systems in the new buildings sector is increasing, forced circula-tion systems are generally being installed.” He first and foremost sees growth markets resulting from “the increased penetration in more mature markets” such as India and Africa and emerging markets in the Middle East and Vietnam. The trend away from ther-mosiphonic systems towards more active systems al-so applies to the USA, as Paul Outram, General Man-ager at SunEarth Inc., confirms.
Hakan Alaş, Managing Director at Turkish manu-facturer Ezinç Metal San. Tic. A.S., says: “European collector manufacturers are looking for new markets
because of the negative effects of global recession.” These new markets for European manufacturers are mainly dominated by thermosiphonic systems. He notes that: “European collector manufacturers are therefore now looking for thermosiphonic tank man-ufacturers to provide them with their own tanks to combine with their collectors,” which certainly offers new opportunities for thermosiphonic tank manufac-turers.
Which new markets look the most promising? S&WE asked companies about the countries where they would most like to tap into new markets in 2010. The participants mentioned the USA most of all, fol-lowed by the Middle East, where Qatar and the United Arabic Emirates were specifically mentioned. These were then followed by Portugal and France. Also men-tioned were North African countries such as Algeria, South American countries such as Venezuela and Ecuador, and Central American countries.
Prices under pressure
What effect is the crisis having on prices? “The price level is decreasing and competition is higher,” says Silvio Giordano from the Italian heating technology group, Riello SpA. Riello is adapting to the current
Transsen has equipped a new housing estate in Brazil with solar water heaters. Photo: Transsen
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Sun & Wind Energy 6/201044
Solar thermal thermoSIPhoNIC SYStemS
conditions and is looking to launch a new, less expen-sive product range. It is, of course, generally desir-able to have less expensive products. But that should not be at the expense of quality. However, that is ex-actly what Manos Monogios, Exports Director from Greek manufacturer Papaemmanouel S.A., is observ-ing: “Due to the generally poor economic situation in the market, the low-cost products are getting a big share. So the critical point for all the manufacturers is to introduce products that combine low cost and ac-ceptable efficiency in the best possible way. This is why the majority of manufacturers are introducing so-lar thermal systems to the market that nobody would have marketed several years ago, such as solar ther-mal systems with a 200 litre tank and a single flat plate collector with a gross surface area less than 1.9 m².”
Vitor Santos, Managing Director of Portuguese manufacturer Ao Sol, Energias Renováveis, SA, is al-so critical of the development, whereby he also sees a trend towards reducing the quality of the equip-ment. However, this is viewed differently in India where T. A. Georgekutty, General Marketing Manager at the Indian manufacturer Anu Solar Power Pvt. Ltd., answers the question about trends in the market with: “Quality consciousness is also improving.”
Eighteen companies stated that they have re-duced the prices of their products by up to 20 % (Fig. 3). Nineteen companies were, however, able to maintain stable prices on the market. Most of them also expect stable prices this year. Eleven of those
Market facts
Source for all graphics: Manufacturers’ information
Distribution of the participants
All continents are represented in our survey *Israel and Turkey included
Fig. 1: Turnover development in 2009 and 2010
Not everything was bad in 2009. Even if many experienced stagnation last year, a lot of companies were still able to increase their sales of thermosiphonic solar water heaters. The vast majority of the companies surveyed expect that there will be renewed growth this year.
Fig. 2: Emerging markets
Which countries saw the largest growth in 2009? Mexico was mentioned the most. The surveyed companies were each allowed to list a maximum of three countries.
0 5 10 15 20 25
Europe *
Asia
North America
South America
Australia
Africa
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
decrease 31 % up to 40 %
decrease 11 % up to 20 %
steady sales
increase 11 % up to 20 %
increase 31 % up to 40 %
increase more than 50 %
2009 2010
Fig. 3: Price development in 2009 and 2010
Most companies were able to resist the downward pressure on prices in 2009 and were able to continue selling their products at the same prices. However, eighteen companies did lower their prices. Fifteen companies want to increase their prices in 2010.
0 5 10 15 20 25
decrease 11 % up to 20 %
decrease 1 % up to 9 %
steady prices
increase 1 % up to 9 %
increase 11 % up to 20 %
2009 2010
Primary school in Taiwan Photo: Chromagen
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Mexico
Portugal
Spain
Italy
Australia
Tunisia
Chile
South Africa
India
Syria
num be r o f m e ntionsNumber of mentions
Sun & Wind Energy 6/2010
surveyed want to sell their products more cheaply this year, while fifteen companies want to capitalise on the expected upturn in order to sell them at high-er prices.
Nevertheless, costs improvements remain an im-portant task for the future, as is confirmed by Christian Ebner, Operations Manager at Heliomex S.A. de C.V. from Mexico. And Stefano Bertolini, Technical Manag-er at Thermics srl from Italy, adds: “We need to pro-mote automated production to ensure high-quality products at cost-effective prices.”
Installing a thermosiphonic system in Florida: a crane lifts up the tank. Photo: Ezinç
Sun & Wind Energy 6/201046
Solar thermal thermoSIPhoNIC SYStemS
High in-house production depth
Whereas the pumped (forced) solar thermal systems are provided by a combination of collector manufac-turers, storage tank producers and system providers, the thermosiphonic system specialists usually pro-duce the main collector and tank components them-selves. Only two companies purchase collectors ex-ternally. However, more companies purchase storage tanks externally: twelve companies do not have in-house storage tank production capacities, although three quarters do produce their own tanks. The table on page 48 provides an overview of the technical specifications of the products.
Only a few manufacturers focus on just one prod-uct range. Almost all produce thermosiphonic sys-tems with different materials and qualities. That be-gins with the system construction. More than 60 % of the companies produce both open- and closed-loop devices (Fig. 4). Here both systems are in equal de-mand: twenty-four companies exclusively or mainly produce closed systems. Eighteen companies, on the other hand, mostly produce open systems. Whereas closed-loop systems dominate the European market, China and Brazil are among the countries where solar water heaters are predominantly open systems.
Trend towards heat pipes
In terms of collector types, most manufacturers con-centrate on either flat plate or evacuated tube collec-tors (Fig. 5). Only a few produce solar water heaters with both collector technologies. The Chinese evacu-ated tube collector manufacturer, Apricus Solar Co., Ltd, is about to join them. The company is planning to expand its product range in the second half of 2010 to include storage tanks and flat plate collectors.
Most solar water heaters are thermo-siphonic solar thermal systems. When the sun shines on the absorber, the heat is transferred through a gravity-based circuit from the collector to the storage tank: hot water rises upwards and cold water sinks below. Thermosiphonic systems require neither backup energy nor pumps and solar controllers. They are therefore less expensive than pumped systems.
Open thermosiphonic systems have only one circuit, which is filled with domes-tic hot water. With models with flat plate collectors, the water circulates through copper pipes that connect the storage tank to the collector. With models with evacuat-ed tubes, the tubes are connected directly to the storage tank. The circulation occurs within the individual glass tubes.
Closed (closed-loop) flat plate collector thermosiphonic systems have an addition-
al solar circuit that is separated from the domestic hot water circuit. The storage tank is then generally designed in the form of a double jacket cylinder. The separating wall between the inner and outer tank acts as the heat exchanger. Some manufactur-ers also deploy storage tanks with tubular heat exchangers. Closed systems have the advantage that in regions exposed to frost the solar circuit can be filled with anti-freeze solution. The solar circuit is also protected from corrosion and limescale caused by aggressive domestic hot water.
It is also possible to manufacture closed systems using evacuated tubes. The pro-viders deploy heat pipes for this purpose. Because a phase transition occurs in the heat pipe, strictly speaking these are not thermosiphonic systems. However, since traditional systems are called single-phase thermosiphonic (SPTS) systems, these
heat pipe systems are now often referred to as dual-phase thermosiphonic (DPTS) systems.
Thermosiphonic systems cope well with stagnation phases. If stagnation occurs, the fluid evaporates in the solar circuit and the steam bubble stops the further circula-tion. With open systems, “boiling” during the stagnation causes the safety valve to open and release water. It then only has to be re-fed. Many devices, particularly in Chi-na, are generally designed in such a way that heat losses prevent the temperature from rising above 80 °C. However, there are also controllers that trigger circulation via the pipe system in order to limit the temperature rise.
With most of the systems, an electric heating rod in the storage tank provides backup heating. For thermosiphonic sys-tems, controllers are available that set the time when the backup heating starts and regulate it. Sven Tetzlaff
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
only open loop
predominant open loop
both the same
only closed loop
predominant closed loop
Fig. 4: Open or closed?
The proportion of companies that exclusively or predominantly sell closed-loop systems is somewhat larger than the proportion of companies that focus on open-loop systems.
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
only evaporated tubecollectors
predominant evaporatedtube collectors
ETC and FPC the same
only flat plate collectors
predominant flat platecollectors
only CPC flat platecollectors
Fig. 5: Flat plate or evacuated tube?
Most of the companies taking part in the market survey produce solar water heaters with flat plate collectors. Only a few offer devices with evacuated tube collectors.
Thermosiphonic systems: It is all down to gravity
Sun & Wind Energy 6/201048
Solar thermal thermoSIPhoNIC SYStemS
Thermosiphonic solar water heaters
Manufacturer ProductType of system
Type of collectorCollector surface [m2]
Absorber coatings 1 Tank materialVolume of tank [litres]
Tank insulation [mm]
Frame materialSacrificial anode
Mounting system 5 PipingPerformance of electric heater [kW]
Anu Solar Power, India Anu SWH both water in tube 2.00 black chrome stainless / enamelled multiples of 100 PU, 50 powder coated steel yes flat roof / ground EPDM 2.0 6
Ao Sol, Portugal CPC 3E+ closed flat plate CPC 2.00 black chrome copper / enamelled 190 /200 / 300 / 350 10 galvanised steel yes 3 all copper 1.0
Apricus, China Apricus AP-30 closed heat pipe 2.83 blue enamelled 340 PU, 50 stainless steel yes all none 3.6
Ariston Thermo, Italy Kairos Thermo 150-1 closed flat plate 2.00 black paint enamelled 150 PU, 45 galvanised steel yes inclined roof / flat roof insulated copper 1.5
Chiryu Heater, Japan 250S-4 open flat plate 3.90 black paint plastic 230 styrene foam galvanised steel n/a all plastic n/a
Chromagen, Israel TSA 150 closed flat plate 1.86 blue enamelled 150 PU, 40 galvanised steel yes inclined roof insulated stainless steel 2.5
CMG, Italy New Efficient Horizon closed heat pipe 2.31 blue vitrificated 160 rock wool, 50 stainless steel yes all copper n/a
Creative Solar Energy, China Collector, tank closed flat plate 1.87 blue stainless n/a n/a n/a n/a inclined roof insulated stainless steel 2.0
Dimas, Greece SOL+ closed flat plate 2.70 blue enamelled 200 PU foam galvanised steel yes all stainless steel 1.5 up to 4.5
Elsol, Israel 200liters closed flat plate 2.60 black chrome steel 200 PU, 40 galvanised steel yes flat roof insulated copper 2.5
Emmvee Solar Systems , India Solrizer open flat plate 2.00 / 4.00 blue / black chrome stainless 100 / 200PU, 50 / rock wool, 100
galvanised steel, aluminium yes inclined roof / flat roofplastic material,insulated galvanised iron
2.0 7
Ezinc, Turkey KG170 / KG300 closed flat plate 2.15 / 4.30 blue / black paint enamelled 170 / 300 PU, 50 galvanised steel, aluminium yes all insulated stainless steel 2.0 / 3.0
HaiLin Solar Energy Equipment, China Victory 450Pro closed n/a 1.85 blue enamelled 450 PU, 50 galvanised steel yes all insulated copper 3.0
Heliomex, Mexico HM open flat plate 2.00 all n/a 150 / 300 PU galvanised steel yes ground copper n/a
Jixiang Solar Energy, China JX-SB58/1800/15 closed heat pipe 2.15 blue stainless 150 PU stainless steel, galvanised steel yes all insulated copper 2.5
Kloben, Italy EVO CPC 270 closed heat pipe 2.83 n/a enamelled 270 PU, 60 stainless steel yes all none 1.6
Módulo Solar, Mexico AXOL AP 150 open flat plate 1.85 blue enamelled 150 PU galvanised steel yes flat roof plastic n/a
Nobel, D. Xilinakis & Co, Greece Apollon closed flat plate 2.03 black chrome / black paint enamelled 320 PU, 50 galvanised steel yes 4 inclined roof / flat roof stainless steel 1.5 up to 4.0
NRG, India Sunny closed water in tube 2.00 black chrome stainless / epoxy coated steel / copper
100 up to 1,500PU, 60 / rock wool, 100 2
powder coated steel yes flat roof insulated steel/ plastic material 2.0
Ouraset, Turkey ASSET 302 closed flat plate 4.20 blue enamelled 300 PU, 50 galvanised steel yes all copper 2.0
Papaemmanouel, Greece Solar Flame 200/BL/2,37-14 closed flat plate 1.15 blue enamelled 200 PU, 50 galvanised steel yes all insulated stainless steel 2.0
Riello, Italy CSN-20 closed flat plate 2.00 black paint enamelled 150 PU, 40 aluminium yes all copper 1.5
Sammler, Greece A160 closed flat plate 1.92 black paint enamelled 150 PU, 40 galvanised steel yes 4 all insulated stainless steel n/a
Schüco, Germany TS 300 closed flat plate 1.80 blue enamelled 293 PU, 50 aluminium yes inclined roof / flat roof insulated stainless steel 1.5 up to 3.0
Shentai, China DAC-H closed heat pipe 1.41 blue stainless 150 PU galvanised steel yes flat roof none 2.0
Sigma, Greece SI 150/2.5 closed flat plate 2.35 black paint/ blue enamelled rock wool, 60 galvanised steel yes inclined roof / flat roof insulated copper 2.0 up to 4.0
Solardome, South Africa SLD 300 litre close-coupled Direct closed flat plate 4.60 black paint copper 300 PU, 60 aluminium no all insulated copper 3.0
Solar Geyser, Pakistan Solar Geyser open water in tube 1.20 /1.60 blue stainless 130 / 169 PU, 60 galvanised steel no flat roof insulated stainless steel 1.5
Solahart Industries, Australia 302Kf closed flat plate 3.80 black chrome enamelled 300 PU, 55 galvanised steel / aluminium yes all copper 2.4
Sole, Greece Eurostar closed flat plate 2.12 blue enamelled 150 PU, 50 galvanised steel yes all copper 2.0 up to 4.0
Soletrol, Brazil Soletrol Special open water in tube 1.60 black paint thermo plastic 200 PU, 30 aluminium no inclined roof EPDM 2.0
Solimpeks, Turkey Marvel closed flat plate 2.50 blue stainless 170 PU, 60 stainless steel no all stainless steel 2.0
Solitaire Solar, Dubai TS3004 open flat plate 4.00 black chrome/ black paint enamelled 300 PU, 60 stainless steel yes inclined roof insulated copper 1.8
Sunda, China 160SH-8TF closed heat pipe 3.00 blue enamelled 160 PU, 50 aluminium n/a all none 1.5
SunEarth, USA SunSiphon both flat plate 4.00 black paint stainless 305 PU, 40 aluminium n/a inclined roof insulated copper 4.5
Sun Master, Austria TS-System closed flat plate 1.90 blue enamelled 150 PU, 50 aluminium yes inclined roof / flat roof stainless steel 2.0 / 3.0
Sunset, Germany Schwerkraftsystem II closed flat plate n/a blue enamelled 200 PU aluminium yes all n/a 2.5
SunRay, New Caledonia SR 304 XL open flat plate 4.00 black chrome stainless 300 PU, 40 aluminium no all copper, insulated copper 2.0
Sunway, Mexico Sunway open flat plate 1.90 black paint enamelled 151 PU steel yes n/a n/a n/a
Termicol, Spain T300ASE closed flat plate 3.80 blue enamelled 300 PU, 50 galvanised steel yes all insulated copper n/a
Thermics, Italy Pegasus closed heat pipe / water in tube 3.84 blue stainless 250 PU / rock wool aluminium no all insulated stainless steel n/a
Transsen, Brazil Acoplado open flat plate 2.00 black paint stainless 200 PU, 30 galvanised steel no inclined roof copper n/a
Tuma, Brazil Solarem open flat plate 2.00 black paint stainless 200 PU, 40 plastic optional all plastic 2.5
Viessmann, Germany Vitosol 222-T closed heat pipe 1.80 blue enamelled 150 PU galvanised steel yes inclined roof / flat roof none 1.5
Wagner & Co, Germany SECUterm closed flat plate 2.02 blue enamelled 160 / 200 / 300 PU n/a yes all insulated stainless steel 1.5
WesTech Solar Technology, China n/a both heat pipe 1.50 up to 4.60 blue PPRC-coated steel 150 up to 500 PU stainless steel , galvanised steel yes all none 1.5 / 2
Xinwang Green Energy, China Aucklat closed heat pipe 1.80 blue stainless 200 n/a galvanised steel yes inclined roof / flat roof none 1.5
1 blue = high selective PVD coating, black paint = selective painting; 2 rock wool for larger systems; 3 only for steel tanks, copper tanks without; 4 two anodes; 5 all = flat roof, ground standing, inclined roof; 6 and multiples of 2; 7 depends on capacity
Sun & Wind Energy 6/2010 49
Manufacturer ProductType of system
Type of collectorCollector surface [m2]
Absorber coatings 1 Tank materialVolume of tank [litres]
Tank insulation [mm]
Frame materialSacrificial anode
Mounting system 5 PipingPerformance of electric heater [kW]
Anu Solar Power, India Anu SWH both water in tube 2.00 black chrome stainless / enamelled multiples of 100 PU, 50 powder coated steel yes flat roof / ground EPDM 2.0 6
Ao Sol, Portugal CPC 3E+ closed flat plate CPC 2.00 black chrome copper / enamelled 190 /200 / 300 / 350 10 galvanised steel yes 3 all copper 1.0
Apricus, China Apricus AP-30 closed heat pipe 2.83 blue enamelled 340 PU, 50 stainless steel yes all none 3.6
Ariston Thermo, Italy Kairos Thermo 150-1 closed flat plate 2.00 black paint enamelled 150 PU, 45 galvanised steel yes inclined roof / flat roof insulated copper 1.5
Chiryu Heater, Japan 250S-4 open flat plate 3.90 black paint plastic 230 styrene foam galvanised steel n/a all plastic n/a
Chromagen, Israel TSA 150 closed flat plate 1.86 blue enamelled 150 PU, 40 galvanised steel yes inclined roof insulated stainless steel 2.5
CMG, Italy New Efficient Horizon closed heat pipe 2.31 blue vitrificated 160 rock wool, 50 stainless steel yes all copper n/a
Creative Solar Energy, China Collector, tank closed flat plate 1.87 blue stainless n/a n/a n/a n/a inclined roof insulated stainless steel 2.0
Dimas, Greece SOL+ closed flat plate 2.70 blue enamelled 200 PU foam galvanised steel yes all stainless steel 1.5 up to 4.5
Elsol, Israel 200liters closed flat plate 2.60 black chrome steel 200 PU, 40 galvanised steel yes flat roof insulated copper 2.5
Emmvee Solar Systems , India Solrizer open flat plate 2.00 / 4.00 blue / black chrome stainless 100 / 200PU, 50 / rock wool, 100
galvanised steel, aluminium yes inclined roof / flat roofplastic material,insulated galvanised iron
2.0 7
Ezinc, Turkey KG170 / KG300 closed flat plate 2.15 / 4.30 blue / black paint enamelled 170 / 300 PU, 50 galvanised steel, aluminium yes all insulated stainless steel 2.0 / 3.0
HaiLin Solar Energy Equipment, China Victory 450Pro closed n/a 1.85 blue enamelled 450 PU, 50 galvanised steel yes all insulated copper 3.0
Heliomex, Mexico HM open flat plate 2.00 all n/a 150 / 300 PU galvanised steel yes ground copper n/a
Jixiang Solar Energy, China JX-SB58/1800/15 closed heat pipe 2.15 blue stainless 150 PU stainless steel, galvanised steel yes all insulated copper 2.5
Kloben, Italy EVO CPC 270 closed heat pipe 2.83 n/a enamelled 270 PU, 60 stainless steel yes all none 1.6
Módulo Solar, Mexico AXOL AP 150 open flat plate 1.85 blue enamelled 150 PU galvanised steel yes flat roof plastic n/a
Nobel, D. Xilinakis & Co, Greece Apollon closed flat plate 2.03 black chrome / black paint enamelled 320 PU, 50 galvanised steel yes 4 inclined roof / flat roof stainless steel 1.5 up to 4.0
NRG, India Sunny closed water in tube 2.00 black chrome stainless / epoxy coated steel / copper
100 up to 1,500PU, 60 / rock wool, 100 2
powder coated steel yes flat roof insulated steel/ plastic material 2.0
Ouraset, Turkey ASSET 302 closed flat plate 4.20 blue enamelled 300 PU, 50 galvanised steel yes all copper 2.0
Papaemmanouel, Greece Solar Flame 200/BL/2,37-14 closed flat plate 1.15 blue enamelled 200 PU, 50 galvanised steel yes all insulated stainless steel 2.0
Riello, Italy CSN-20 closed flat plate 2.00 black paint enamelled 150 PU, 40 aluminium yes all copper 1.5
Sammler, Greece A160 closed flat plate 1.92 black paint enamelled 150 PU, 40 galvanised steel yes 4 all insulated stainless steel n/a
Schüco, Germany TS 300 closed flat plate 1.80 blue enamelled 293 PU, 50 aluminium yes inclined roof / flat roof insulated stainless steel 1.5 up to 3.0
Shentai, China DAC-H closed heat pipe 1.41 blue stainless 150 PU galvanised steel yes flat roof none 2.0
Sigma, Greece SI 150/2.5 closed flat plate 2.35 black paint/ blue enamelled rock wool, 60 galvanised steel yes inclined roof / flat roof insulated copper 2.0 up to 4.0
Solardome, South Africa SLD 300 litre close-coupled Direct closed flat plate 4.60 black paint copper 300 PU, 60 aluminium no all insulated copper 3.0
Solar Geyser, Pakistan Solar Geyser open water in tube 1.20 /1.60 blue stainless 130 / 169 PU, 60 galvanised steel no flat roof insulated stainless steel 1.5
Solahart Industries, Australia 302Kf closed flat plate 3.80 black chrome enamelled 300 PU, 55 galvanised steel / aluminium yes all copper 2.4
Sole, Greece Eurostar closed flat plate 2.12 blue enamelled 150 PU, 50 galvanised steel yes all copper 2.0 up to 4.0
Soletrol, Brazil Soletrol Special open water in tube 1.60 black paint thermo plastic 200 PU, 30 aluminium no inclined roof EPDM 2.0
Solimpeks, Turkey Marvel closed flat plate 2.50 blue stainless 170 PU, 60 stainless steel no all stainless steel 2.0
Solitaire Solar, Dubai TS3004 open flat plate 4.00 black chrome/ black paint enamelled 300 PU, 60 stainless steel yes inclined roof insulated copper 1.8
Sunda, China 160SH-8TF closed heat pipe 3.00 blue enamelled 160 PU, 50 aluminium n/a all none 1.5
SunEarth, USA SunSiphon both flat plate 4.00 black paint stainless 305 PU, 40 aluminium n/a inclined roof insulated copper 4.5
Sun Master, Austria TS-System closed flat plate 1.90 blue enamelled 150 PU, 50 aluminium yes inclined roof / flat roof stainless steel 2.0 / 3.0
Sunset, Germany Schwerkraftsystem II closed flat plate n/a blue enamelled 200 PU aluminium yes all n/a 2.5
SunRay, New Caledonia SR 304 XL open flat plate 4.00 black chrome stainless 300 PU, 40 aluminium no all copper, insulated copper 2.0
Sunway, Mexico Sunway open flat plate 1.90 black paint enamelled 151 PU steel yes n/a n/a n/a
Termicol, Spain T300ASE closed flat plate 3.80 blue enamelled 300 PU, 50 galvanised steel yes all insulated copper n/a
Thermics, Italy Pegasus closed heat pipe / water in tube 3.84 blue stainless 250 PU / rock wool aluminium no all insulated stainless steel n/a
Transsen, Brazil Acoplado open flat plate 2.00 black paint stainless 200 PU, 30 galvanised steel no inclined roof copper n/a
Tuma, Brazil Solarem open flat plate 2.00 black paint stainless 200 PU, 40 plastic optional all plastic 2.5
Viessmann, Germany Vitosol 222-T closed heat pipe 1.80 blue enamelled 150 PU galvanised steel yes inclined roof / flat roof none 1.5
Wagner & Co, Germany SECUterm closed flat plate 2.02 blue enamelled 160 / 200 / 300 PU n/a yes all insulated stainless steel 1.5
WesTech Solar Technology, China n/a both heat pipe 1.50 up to 4.60 blue PPRC-coated steel 150 up to 500 PU stainless steel , galvanised steel yes all none 1.5 / 2
Xinwang Green Energy, China Aucklat closed heat pipe 1.80 blue stainless 200 n/a galvanised steel yes inclined roof / flat roof none 1.5
Source: Manufacturers’ information
Sun & Wind Energy 6/201050
Solar thermal thermoSIPhoNIC SYStemS
Europe, low-quality evacuated tubes are gaining a larger share of the market.
In recent years, flat plate collectors with alumini-um absorbers have gained increasing importance in the solar thermal market. This development seems to be slower in the thermosiphonic system segment. Al-most 30 % of the surveyed companies deploying flat plate collectors state that they exclusively or predom-inantly use aluminium (Fig. 6). Copper therefore still continues to dominate. Although many companies use both metals, almost all of them have clear prefer-ences: only two of them use both metals to an equal extent in the collectors they sell. Steel absorbers do not play a considerable role and are only deployed by three manufacturers.
Most manufacturers also provide different op-tions with absorber coatings. In addition to produc-ing high quality products with highly selective blue sputter coatings, many companies also provide cheaper products with coatings made of black paint or black chrome (Fig. 7). Companies that do not use blue coatings are clearly in the minority at 20 %.
The manufacturers use the greatest diversity of materials with their storage tanks. In addition to cyl-inders made of stainless or enamelled steel, copper, plastic and epoxy resin-coated steel are also used (Fig. 8). “We’re seeing an increase in enamelled tanks,” says Steve Tang from Chinese manufacturer Creative Solar Energy Co.,Ltd. Ao Sol is also one of the companies to have introduced enamelled tanks in 2009. Sixteen companies exclusively deploy these tanks, while ten only use stainless steel. Almost eve-ry second company also uses alternative materials here. NRG Technologists Pvt. Ltd. from India has re-cently launched a product with a copper tank, since the water quality in India can cause stainless steel tanks to corrode.
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
only blue
predominant blue
only black chrome
predominant black chrome
only black paint
predominant black paint
all the same
blue and black paint the same
blue and blackchrome the same
black chrome and black paint the same
Fig. 6: Aluminium or copper?
Copper is the dominating absorber material with flat plate solar water heaters.
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
only copper
predominant copper
copper and aluminium the same
only aluminium
predominant aluminium
copper, steel and aluminium the same
only stainless steel
Fig. 7: Blue or black?
Most companies offer products with collectors that vary in terms of their outputs.
Fig. 8: Stainless or enamelled steel?
In addition to stainless and enamelled steel, copper and plastic are also used for storage tanks.
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
only stainless steel
predominantly stainless steel
only enamelled steel
predominantly enamelled steel
both stainless steel and enamelled steel
only copper
both stainless steel and plastics
stainless steel, copper and plastics
only galvanized steel
only plastics
Twenty-six manufacturers only produce systems with flat plate collectors and eight only produce systems with evacuated tube collectors. The traditional mar-ket for solar water heaters with evacuated tubes is China. But according to Anu Solar Power, there is al-so increasing demand for evacuated tubes in India.
Among thermosiphonic systems recently launched on the market, the trend is towards prod-ucts with heat pipes (see page 54). Vitor Santos from Ao Sol believes, however, that at least in Southern
Sun & Wind Energy 6/2010 51
What is the outlook for 2010?
What new developments do the companies expect in the solar water heater market in 2010? Micky Carmel from Chromagen in Israel sees a trend towards social housing installations in developing countries. And Marcelo Machado, International Business Coordinator at Brazilian manufacturer Aquecedor Solar Transsen Ltda, expects that polymers will be increasingly de-ployed in flat plate collectors and thermal tanks. This will particularly be the case with the low-pressure, open-loop systems mostly installed in Brazil.
Andreas Wagner, Executive Director at German manufacturer Wagner & Co Solartechnik GmbH,
Larger systems, such as here in Adana where several thermosiphonic units are connected together, can frequently be found in Turkey. Photo: Ouraset
Thermics uses a particularly narrow tank in order to improve the visual appearance. Photo: Thermics
Solar thermal thermoSIPhoNIC SYStemS
The young urban generation in China is constantly on the move. They fre-quently change jobs, cities and apartments. Only a very few apartments are equipped with air conditioning or devices for supplying hot water. But if they change apartment, they can simply take their solar water heater with them.
Solar water heaters are also suitable for temporary structures such as mi-grant worker dormitories or emergency accommodation built following earth-quake disasters. After the severe earthquake in Sichuan in May 2008, the Sunrain company donated the equivalent of € 320,000 in money and goods to the disaster relief fund. CEO Xu Xinjian personally went along with 24 volunteer employees from Sunrain to the disaster zone and installed solar water heaters there, particularly for shared toilet and washing facilities.
Chinese solar water heaters are almost always open-looped, single-phase thermosiphonic (SPTS) systems using evacuated tubes. Flat plate col-lectors are hardly used. Most houses do not have any water supplies via pressure pipes. The water is always fed by means of the hydrostatic pressure from the reservoir. This has the advantage that the low pressure makes it very difficult for aerolisation to occur, which in turn could cause Legionella infections. The SPTS systems are mostly designed such that they do not ex-ceed a maximum temperature of 80 °C: above the disinfection temperature and below the phase transition. There are hardly any problems with mineral deposits, as the water is mostly soft. The water is domestic hot water, not potable water according to European standards. However, the Chinese gov-ernment wants to considerably improve the tap water quality in the near fu-ture. Closed-loop solar water heaters could then become more significant.
Although the total number of solar water heaters in China is enormous, the number per head of population in the countryside is still very low. There-fore the actual boom in solar thermal power, subsidised by programmes to support the rural population, is still to come in China.
A solar water heater, including installation, costs an average of € 290 in China. The prices here have remained very stable for the last 14 months. This is despite the current inflation, which is a sign that the companies must have further increased productivity and that competition has become even tougher. Sven Tetzlaff
If they change apartment, Chinese people often simply take their solar water heater with them. Photo: Sven Tetzlaff
Fierce competition: Solar water heaters in China
Sun & Wind Energy 6/2010 53
believes on the other hand that the best chances for high quality products are in Europe: “There is a grow-ing demand for systems with higher performance, es-pecially if the climatic conditions make it necessary to add an electric backup system.” With its new Secuterm product, Wagner & Co is aiming to produce a high-performance solar water heater that requires little or no backup heating. Vitor Santos from Ao Sol sees a trend towards differentiated products such as CPC and high-quality flat plate collectors.
Although a powerful collector is one factor, the overall quality of a solar water heater also depends on other components. “Specific thermosiphonic sys-tem components, such as the magnesium anode and electrical heater, are very important,” says Hakan Alaş from Ezinç. “For example, we are using magnesi-um anodes produced and selected according to DIN standards.” Indeed, standards and regulations repre-sent another important aspect for the Managing Di-rector. Besides the European EN-12976 standard and the resulting Solar Keymark certification that applies throughout the EU, there are also individual stand-ards in other countries. That does not exactly make life easier for companies active worldwide. But EN-12976 also has its downsides: “The most impor-tant point about European EN-12976 certification was to test each system separately, which takes too much time,” says Alaş. There are, however, signs of im-provement, since the testing institutes are now be-
Elsol from Israel offers thermosiphonic systems with different tilt angles, which can be adapted to the respective location. Photo: Elsol
ginning to test just one system and then apply the re-sults to the entire product family by means of simula-tion calculations.
Liu Kun, Sales Executive from Beijing Sunda Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd., in China highlights a quite different issue: the aesthetic impact of solar thermal systems integrated in building envelopes. Smart solutions can be found, particularly for forced systems. But the visual impression made by a solar water heater on the roof or balcony can also be im-proved. The solutions that the manufacturers have come up with for their new products are summarised on page 54. Jens-Peter Meyer
thermoSIPhoNIC SYStemSSolar thermal
Look matters Product innovations for solar
water heaters: hidden tanks that
disappear behind the collector
are in demand. Also: heat pipe
systems with evacuated tubes
and flat plate collectors.
HP 150: solar water heater with single glass heat pipe evacuated tubes from EHT Photo: Jens-Peter Meyer
W ith a thermosiphonic system, the user can for example supply his or her house with hot water in an elegant and simple way.
Except that the solar water heaters usually don’t look very elegant when sitting on the roof. That might not be a cause for worry in lively urban areas between satellite dishes, clotheslines, and other forms of roof utilisation but it can result in solar energy not being an option for tourist areas and historic centres. There fore, equipment manufacturers are increasingly working to develop less eye-catching products.
A solution: installing the tank behind the collector. Chromagen from Israel manufactures such a product. The low profile system is available with either one or two collectors and different tank sizes (see S&WE 5/2010, page 62). Solimpeks Solar Energy Systems Corp. from Turkey also manufactures such thermo-siphonic systems and the Greek manufacturer Sole S.A.’s new Fino thermosiphonic system also has a
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Sun & Wind Energy 6/2010
concealed tank located behind the collector. The col-lector is arranged horizontally. There is a system with 150 litres capacity and a small 1.91 m² collector and one with 200 litres and 2.31 m² collector surface area. A system with a hidden tank is also available from the Turkish manufacturer Ezinç Metal San. Tic. A.S (see S&WE 5/2010, page 62). It not only looks better, it al-so reduces the wind load for the device.
Tank assembly behind the collector is technically limited. The thermosiphonic system requires the tank to be above the collector. An alternative to pure gravi-ty circulation would be a heat pipe system. In this
Solarizer supreme HR: thermosiphonic system by
Emmvee with a highly selec-tive absorber coating
New Efficient Horizon: heat pipe cycle from CMG Solari
Low profile system: Chromagen hides the tank.
Ariston Thermo’s Kairos Thermo 150-1 TR: thermosiphonic system with multiflow absorber
Unless otherwise stated, the photos are from the manufacturers.
New thermosiphonic systems
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Solar thermal thermoSIPhoNIC SYStemS
Sundome Integral 150L: tank collector from Solardome
Faster installation with the new stand from Sammler
HP 160 Easy: heat pipe system by GREENoneTEC with concealed tank
KG-170 / KG-300: Ezinç’s thermosiphonic kits were awarded with the SRCC, FSEC and Energy Star certificates.
case, a heat transfer medium such as ethanol is car-ried by the system at a slightly reduced pressure. When the sun shines strongly enough, the alcohol evaporates in the collector. The vapour rises and is transported via the piping leading into the boiler where it condenses. This principle is utilised by the Italian company CMG Solari (see also S&WE 3/2010, page 97) in their product New Efficient Heat Pipe. Here it is not arranged horizontally like in conventional sys-tems but perpendicularly behind the collector. With side panels looking like brickwork, the result is a visu-
Sun & Wind Energy 6/2010
ally appealing roof construction. New this year is the New Efficient Horizon with a horizontal tank. The sys-tem with 1 m² collector surface area and 80 litres ca-pacity is especially small and compact. According to CMG, the system is much more efficient than conven-tional thermosiphonic systems with glycol, even dur-ing winter and with low temperatures.
Last year, the Austrian company GREENoneTEC Solarindustrie GmbH also launched a heat pipe sys-tem: the HP 160 Easy (see S&WE 4/2009, page 64). In addition to the higher yield, the manufacturer sees the advantage of the heat pipe principle in preventing pos-sible overheating issues during stagnation periods. The heat pipe cycle comes to a halt when the heat can not be absorbed by the storage tank any longer. Con-sequently, the system does not need a pressure relief valve in its solar circuit. Since the storage tank is in-stalled in an upright position, temperature-induced stratification can be generated. The system comes pre-assembled so you merely have to unfold the mounting frame at the desired location. The HP Easy can also be installed on sloped roofs.
Safety: protection against overheating
The Italian company Thermics S.r.l. has chosen a dif-ferent solution for the aesthetics issue. Here, the tank is located above the collectors. The form, however, is flattened towards the bottom and is not cylindrical. This causes the solar heater to visually merge with the roof surface. This extra slim tank doesn’t have a dou-ble jacket, but a stainless steel corrugated fresh- water heat exchanger. Thermics offer the Pegasus system in two versions: with flat plate collectors or heat-pipe evacuated tube collectors. Solar water heaters with heat pipes are usually designed in a way that the con-denser of the pipe can directly transfer the heat in the tank. Thermics, however, employs a heat pipe collec-tor with a header tube as is also used for forced sys-tems. This allows the company to use the same tank for both the flat and the heat pipe variant. The con-denser of the double glass heat pipes is five times larger than that of conventional pipes. This is to cru-cially improve heat transfer. The Thermics collector is to provide higher temperatures, such as required for solar cooling for example. A further novelty: for auto-matic refilling with cold water, Thermics employs a sensor and an electric valve which are both powered by a small PV module.
The German company Wagner & Co Solartechnik GmbH had previously only focused on forced systems. Now they offer the thermosiphonic system named SECUterm, which is designed for maximum yields thanks to its good insulation and an integrated return pipe built into the collector. The system includes a spe-cial thermal protection for limiting the storage tank temperature. A thermostatic valve in the solar circuit supply closes when the temperature rises above 95 °C. The solar fluid evaporating in the collector then push-es the fluid inside the collector over the return pipe in-to the double-walled heat exchanger of the storage
Sun & Wind Energy 6/201058
Solar thermal thermoSIPhoNIC SYStemS
Soletrol Special: 200 litre system from Soletrol
Topsol: compact sys-tem from Soletrol
Fino: hidden tank behind the horizontal collector from Sole
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Vaso Solare: heat pipe system for the balcony from Sunerg Photo: Jens-Peter Meyer
Sun & Wind Energy 6/2010 59
tank. Here, there is an air bubble which is now com-pressed and can thus act as a pressure vessel. Even during longer downtime periods there will be no pres-sure build-up and the system will remain operational. Storage tank temperatures exceeding 100 °C are thus avoided. Releasing steam is not necessary. Wagner & Co estimates that the SECUterm can reach a solar frac-tion of up to 100 % in sunny locations in Southern Europe so that, ideally, electrical auxiliary heating is not required.
Stagnation protection is something that is also im-portant to NRG Technologists Pvt. Ltd. from India. The company is now offering air release valves and pressure-temperature (PT) valves as standard in the larger 500 to 1,500 litre systems for residential pur-poses. NRG realises that when people go on vacation they never drain the system, so the temperature in the tanks is bound to exceed boiling temperature which causes problems because venting is not adequate with only an air vent or an air release valve. A PT valve helps alleviating the problem of water overheating to high temperatures, which can cause scalding of the person using the water in the bathroom. Solar Geyser Pvt. Ltd. has just introduced hot and cold water mixers, true temperature displays and wireless digital solar micro controllers.
Storage tanks: coatings increase durability and stability
A number of companies have spent the last few months working on storage tanks. Sun Ray from the French overseas department of New Caledonia have devel-oped new vertical tanks with 154 litres, 204 litres, 304 litres and 404 litres capacity. Emmvee Solar Systems Pvt. Ltd. from India use Solarizer Plus and Solarizer Supreme in their products and a glass line enamel coating inside the storage tank. Solardome SA from South Africa have developed another solar water heater with 110 litres capacity with a copper hot water cylinder for low-cost applications. In this case, it is a collector tank. The collector is also the storage tank. The technical innovation: Solardome has reinforced the Sunstor copper storage tank. The inner cylinder is externally encapsulated with an epoxy-glass layer.
NRG has re-introduced copper tanks for its evacu-ated tube system Sunny Supersol. The reason: since the water quality in India is bad and because of ram-pant use of ground water, there are a lot of corrosion issues with stainless steel. NRG’s experience is that these tanks tend to fail in three to five years’ time due to small pitting corrosion holes. To overcome this prob-lem, NRG has launched Sunny Supersol with a copper tank, which makes it more expensive but also allevi-ates all water quality problems and ensures a long product life.
Ao Sol, Energias Renovaveis SA from Portugal has up to now only used copper tanks. The new product line however sees the use of enamelled steel tanks. In 2010, the company has extended its product range to include devices with 200 and 300 litres capacity. Since 2009, there are variants with 190 and 350 litres.
Sun & Wind Energy 6/201060
Solar thermal thermoSIPhoNIC SYStemS
Vitosol 222-T: solar water heater with single glass heat pipe evacuated tubes from Viessmann
New thermosi-phonic system with cold water inlet system from Transsen
Pegasus System: visually appealing ther-mosiphonic system with double glass heat pipe evacuated tubes from Thermics
Termicol’s new product generation with higher-efficiency collectors
New vertical tanks from Sun Ray
Solimpeks’s system with hidden tank
The Turkish manufacturer Tansuğ Makina San. Ve Tic. Ltd. Şti., that distributes its products under the Ouraset brand, has improved its boiler manufacture: the company has introduced a new welding and enam-elling technique that has dramatically increased the quality and the life time of the tanks. The internal an-nual quality control reports reveal that over 96 % of the boilers left production with the excellent quality grade as opposed to 83 % of 2008.
Mounting systems: reduce installation time
Thermosiphonic systems should be more compact and easier to install. The Greek company Sammler SA has taken on this task and designed a new stand. The new structure offers the advantages of an installation
on flat and tiled roofs without the necessity of extra materials. It also reduces the required installation time and makes the system appear more compact and aes-thetically attractive.
Improvements to the support structure system were also made by Papaemmanouel S.A, also from Greece. Sunway de México SA de CV made im-provements in frames and solar absorb-
ers. Chromagen from Israel also have a new stand and improved plumbing kit for
their closed loop thermosiphonic system series TSA, with capacities ranging from 150
and 200 to 300 litres. In 2009, Ezinç launched a new thermosiphonic solar water heater mounting
system. With the new installation system made of aluminium and galvanised steel, the fitter only re-quires a very short installation time on the roof. Moreover: the KG-170 and KG-300 thermosiphonic
kits were awarded with the SRCC, FSEC and Energy Star certificates in the USA. With these two models, Ezinç is the first company to have thermosiphonic solar water heaters with these three labels.
Plug and play is the key word at Soletrol Indústria e Comércio Ltda. from Brazil. The two new products Top Sol with 110 litres capacity and Soletrol Special with 200 litres are both com-pact, easy-to-install systems. Aque-cedor Solar Transsen Ltda., also from Brazil, has developed a new thermosi-
phonic system with a new cold water inlet system. Here, cold water is refilled from a water deposit as re-quired.
With the Kairos Thermo, Ariston Thermo S.p.A. from Italy has launched a new range of closed loop systems for Europe. The product line ranges from 150 litres with one collector up to 300 litres with two collectors. To minimise the pressure loss in the solar circuit, Ariston has developed a new absorber technol-ogy with multi-flow.
The Spanish manufacturer Termicol Energía Solar, S.L. also offers novelties: new collectors for all the sys-tems and new plastic caps for the tanks that make them easier to handle. The improved collectors make sure that thermosiphonic systems’ efficiencies rise.
Heat pipe systems: many novelties
Not only Thermics from Italy have developed a solar water heater with double glass heat pipes. The Chinese company Shentai Solar Energy Co., Ltd. also offers a solar water heater. The heat pipe system with im-proved solar collector performance also is a novelty at Xinwang Green Energy Co., Ltd.
The Italian company EHT Italia S.r.l. on the other hand uses single glass heat pipes for their HP-150 sys-tem. 16 heat pipes are connected via the condenser di-rectly to the 150 litres tank. The German company Viessmann Werke GmbH & Co. KG has currently devel-oped the single glass heat pipe system Vitosol 222-T. Viessmann have now started manufacturing their own evacuated tubes on a site located in China (see S&WE 4/2010, page 60). Nine of these evacuated tubes are combined with a 150 litre tank in the Vitosol 222-T. Viessmann see the advantages of the system in the fact that the absorber is placed in a vacuum and is therefore protected from corrosion. The heat pipe evacuated tube technology provides a particularly powerful product that can be mounted on flat or pitched roofs. High operational reliability is guaran-teed by an additional optional PT valve. Viessmann, too, tries to package its product as visually appealing as possible. To this end, the company offers visually appealing side covers for the pipes.
The Vaso Solare from Sunerg Solar S.r.l. can be in-stalled unobtrusively on the balcony. The tank with 45 litres capacity is hidden in a flower pot with fake flowers. Short, vertically mounted double glass heat pipes supply the hot water. Jens-Peter Meyer
Sun & Wind Energy 6/2010
Further information:3G-Solar GmbH: www.3g-solar.deAnu Solar Power Pvt. Ltd.: www.anusolar.comAo Sol, Energias Renováveis, SA: www.aosol.ptApricus Solar Co., Ltd: www.apricus.comAriston Thermo S.p.A.: www.aristonthermo.comChiryu Heater Co.,Ltd.: www.chiryuheater.jpChromagen: www.chromagen.bizCMG Solari: www.cmgsolari.itCreative Solar Energy Co., Ltd.: www.creativeintlcn.com Dimas SA: www.dimas-solar.gr EHT Italia s.r.l.: www.ehtitalia.itElsol Solar Energy Systems, Ltd.: www.elsol.co.ilEmmvee Solar Systems Pvt. Ltd.: www.emmveesolar.comEzinç Metal San. Tic. A.S: www.ezinc.com.trGREENoneTEC Solarindustrie GmbH: www.greenonetec.comHaier Co.,Ltd.: www.haier.comHaiLin Solar Energy Equipment Co., Ltd.: www.hailinsolar.com.cn Heliomex S.A. de C.V.: www.heliomex.com.mxJixiang Solar Energy Co., Ltd.: www.lucky-energy.comKloben (Turco Group S.r.l.): www.kloben.itLinuo Paradigma Co., Ltd.: en.linuo-paradigma.comMódulo Solar S.A. de C.V.: www.modulosolar.com.mxNobel (D. Xilinakis & Co): www.nobel.grNRG Technologists Pvt. Ltd.: www.nrgtechnologists.comOuraset (Tansuğ Makina San. Ve Tic. Ltd. Šti.) www.ouraset.com Papaemmanouel S.A.: www.papaemmanouel.grRiello SpA: www.riello.itSammler SA: www.sammler.grSchüco International KG: www.schueco.comShentai Solar Energy Co., Ltd.: www.shentaisolar.comSigma: www.sigma-sa.comSolahart Industries Pty Ltd: www.solahart.com Solardome SA: www.solardome.co.zaSolar Geyser Pvt., Ltd.: www.solar-geyser.comSole SA: www.eurostar-solar.comSoletrol Indústria e Comércio Ltda.: www.soletrol.com.brSolimpeks Solar Energy Systems Corp.: www.solimpeks.comSolitaireSolar International: www.solitairesolar.aeSunda Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd.: www.sundasolar.comSunEarth Inc.: www.sunearthinc.comSunerg Solar srl: www.sunergsolar.comSun Master Energiesysteme GmbH: www.sun-master.atSun Ray: www.sun-ray.fr Sunset Energietechnik GmbH: www.sunset-solar.comSunshore Solar Energy Industry Co.: www.sunshore.en.alibaba.comSunway de México SA de CV: www.sunwaymx.com.mxTermicol Energía Solar, S.L.: www.termicol.esThermics srl : www.thermics.it Transsen (Aquecedor Solar Transsen Ltda): www.transsen.comTuma Industrial Ltda.: www.tuma.ind.brViessmann Werke GmbH & Co. KG, www.viessmann.de Wagner & Co Solartechnik GmbH: www.wagner-solar.de WesTech Solar Technology Wuxi Co., Ltd.: www.westechsolar.comXinwang Green Energy Co., Ltd.: www.aucklatsolar.en.alibaba.com
SECUterm: Wagner & Co. employs a valve to limit the temperature in the storage tank to 95 °C.
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