Solar water heating

Part of a series on
Sustainable energy
Energy conservation Arcology Building insulation Cogeneration Eco hotel Efficient energy use Energy storage Environmental planning Environmental technology Fossil fuel phase-out Green building Green building and wood Heat pump List of low-energy building techniques Low-energy house Microgeneration Sustainable architecture Sustainable city Sustainable habitat Sustainable refurbishment Thermal energy storage Tropical green building Zero-energy building Zero heating building
Renewable energy Biofuel Sustainable Biogas Biomass Carbon-neutral fuel Geothermal Hydropower Hydroelectricity Marine energy Tidal Renewable energy transition Renewable heat Solar Wave Wind
Sustainable transport Green vehicle Electric vehicle Bicycle Solar vehicle Wind-powered vehicle Hybrid vehicle Human-electric Twike Plug-in Human-powered transport Helicopter Hydrofoil Land vehicle Bicycle Cycle rickshaw Kick scooter Quadracycle Tricycle Velomobile Roller skating Skateboarding Walking Watercraft Personal transporter Rail transport Tram Rapid transit Personal rapid transit
Category Renewable energy portal
v t e

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]