Solar Water Heating Warms Up For A Second Innings In India

Highlights :

• India’s solar water heater market is set for a refresh, with a new quality control order establishing benchmarks for production in the country

From being the only visible solar application till a decade back, solar water heating (SWH) seemed to take a back seat as mainstream PV caught policy makers attention. Recently, India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) came out with a quality control order for solar water heaters. So what’s the big deal? A lot, it would appear. The order, Industry insiders say, opens up a whole new opportunity for domestic manufacturers, and will open up a large market opportunity for them. SaurEnergy caught up with Jaideep Malviya, Secretary of the Solar Thermal Federation of India, to better understand the implications. 

Jaideep N. Malaviya, Secretary General, Solar Thermal Federation of India (STFI)

SaurEnergy. What is the Quality Control Order all about?

Ans. Influx of poor-quality systems, varying capacities manufactured, compromise on material specifications and bringing manufactured systems at par with global standards necessitated stricter Quality Control (Q.C.) for Solar water heaters (SWH) by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India. Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the implementing agency. It is almost fulfilling ISO 9459-4:2013, a standard by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), specifies a method for evaluating the annual energy performance of solar water heaters. BIS is a member of ISO. 

SaurEnergy. Which is covered under this Q.C.?

Ans. Indian Standards IS 12933 for Solar Flat Plate Collector) and IS16542: Direct insertion storage tank & IS16544 for Evacuated Tubes Solar Water Heating System are covered as part of this QCO. The IS 16543: All glass evacuated Solar collector tubes — specification is currently exempted.

SaurEnergy. Do all the systems sizes manufactured need to be tested?

Ans. In case of Flat Plate Collector there is only one standard size, which only needs to be tested as per IS12933. In case of all glass evacuated Tubes Solar Water Heating system as per IS 16544:2016 they are grouped as follows:

Sample of the highest capacity from each applicable group if tested all the sizes below highest capacity automatically qualify as tested besides sample of lowest capacity in the entire size range intended to be covered in scope, shall also be tested separately. For systems with different materials of tank and tubes then the tests have to be repeated per material change per group. Also, in case of any change in number of tubes, outer diameter and length of tube, separate sample is to be tested.

SaurEnergy. How will it benefit the manufacturers and consumers?

Ans. Consumers will be secured with a quality product thus find value for money. With Q.C. in place sub-standard imports of goods will be kept in check and benefit qualitative manufacturers in India and abroad. Most important India will join select list of countries with Quality Standards that will facilitate exports thus increase business.

SaurEnergy. What are the challenges with this Order?

Ans. When the Order was formally declared on 12^th April 2024 there were only two testing labs authorised by BIS. As per the older Order each model was to be tested for granting license. A cumulative of over 1,000 models are being manufactured in the country by nationwide manufacturers. Each model requires minimum 30 days for testing and generating reports. Thus it would take several years to get all models certified. However, with the intervention of STFI the grouping guidelines were revised and has given relief to the industry.

SaurEnergy. Has the solar heater market slowed down?

Ans. SWH was once a flagship programme of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy with over 1.5 million m2 annual installed capacity. With falling Solar PV prices and aggressive policies to accelerate Rooftop Solar PV under PM Surya Ghar Yojna the rooftop became more attractive for PV systems and has resulted in the markets slowing down and is currently close to 1.1 million m2. India continues to be amongst the top ten global SWH market.

SaurEnergy. Which are the potential markets?

Ans. SWH is presently popular for domestic use with over 90% market share. It is most economical for heating water as Solar thermal efficiency is in excess of 50% against PV efficiency of 20%. Hot water demand for domestic use is largely during non-sunlight hours i.e. early morning and evening. It is far cheaper to store hot water than storing PV in battery for electrical heating. There must be some policy by government to de-carbonise heating as it directly reduces the emissions and helps in meeting the emissions reduction target. As an example the Pradhan Mantri Awas Ghar Yojna that plans to build permanent houses for over 40 million families can be provided with SWH for meeting domestic hot water needs and also reduce the burden of electricity.

SaurEnergy. What is the size of the solar water heater market in India.

Ans. Although there is no official study undertaken since 2014, when subsidies on SWH were stopped until then India had achieved 14 million m2 of installed SWH. It is anticipated the market must be close 25 million m2 assuming annual 1.1 million m2 as installed. As per a study by STFI even if 30% of the 325 million permanent houses installs average 1.5 m2 SWH the market size is close to 150 mil m2 and has potential to become ₹ 1,300 billion industry. Notably, it can create in excess of about 25,000 jobs.

SaurEnergy. Is there a mandate to use SWH presently?

Ans. States like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan have policies to encourage Solar water heater by way of mandatory installation to get building completion certificate, property tax rebates, electricity rebates.

SaurEnergy. What are the industry recommendations for de-carbonising Solar heating?

Ans. Similar to Pradhan Mantri Muft Bijli Surya Ghar Yojna the government should also have Pradhan Mantri Muft Garam Paani Surya Ghar Yojna with a nominal subsidy calculated against the monetary environmental savings considering India’s vast potential of over 200 million m2 market for SWH. Secondly, several semi-rural households and villages continue to use wood for heating water destructing the environment. If the government can assess the monetary burden on environment  by way of cutting of trees and compensate the same by way of subsidy to SWH it can protect the environment. 1 kg of wood burnt is equivalent to 4.5 kWh (units) of electricity or 125 litres  of Solar thermal heated water (2 m2) produced.  For every 2,000 m2 installed Solar water heater area 1 ton of wood is saved per day. A serious thought needs to be given to de-carbonise heating. A new technology air source heat pump that absorbs heat from air outside a building and release it inside a storage water tank is emerging and if used in hybrid mode should be explored. STFI is continuing its pursuit to influence the government and policy planners to announce market acceleration policies.

Jaideep N. Malaviya, Secretary General, Solar Thermal Federation of India 

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