What is solar thermal technology?
Solar thermal technology uses heat from the sun to heat water or air. It is also possible to use solar thermal technology in cooling the air. Solar thermal can also be used to generate electricity in large solar arrays by generating steam to power turbines. Solar Tomorrow Inc.'s products are for distributed energy generation - i.e. generating heat from the sunlight that hits the panel installation on a building.
Does solar thermal make sense for commercial or industrial space?
Yes! Commercial and industrial spaces often have large hot water expenditures. The payback on solar thermal systems installed on commercial and industrial systems can be well under five years. After this time, the space benefits from free energy. In addition, solar thermal systems are an effective and easy way of decreasing the carbon footprint and supporting a socially-responsible green corporate mandate.Are solar thermal and photovoltaic solar collectors the same thing?
No.
Photovoltaic solar collectors convert light into electricity; solar
thermal collectors convert solar light into heat. The photovoltaic
process is less efficient than the solar thermal one.
Why is solar thermal technology not widely used in North America?
In
the 1980's, subsidies motivated the growth of the solar thermal
industry, but the end of the subsidies brought about a quick demise of
the industry. Since then, the prices of solar thermal technologies
have remained relatively high because companies are competing on the
basis of costs on relatively similar technologies rather than creating
innovations that could drive down production costs and pass on the
savings to consumers.
Solar thermal technologies are thriving in Europe because of subsidies and mandatory adoption requirements, as well as in China because solar thermal technologies are often the only affordable way of heating water. The U.S. has very limited subsidies for solar thermal installations and more accessible sources of fossil fuel energy. These days, however, the rising costs of energy are squeezing the average consumer. Also, the immense issue of climate change, which was not recognized 30 years ago, provides an incentive for the use of solar thermal technologies.