Heating for homes, industrial purposes and other applications accounts for around 50 per cent of total energy consumption worldwide.

In Norway alone, heating accounts for 65 to 70 per cent of electricity consumption. Although nearly all of this energy comes from renewable sources, the majority of heating worldwide is provided using fossil fuels.

To make matters worse, electric heating requires a conversion of heat into electricity, an enormously inefficient process.

The sun is a free, renewable energy source that can be harvested and used locally, even in colder climates. Using solar thermal collectors can help to reduce the amount of non-renewable energy used for heating by using the rays of the sun.

Catch Solar has developed building-integrated aluminium thermal panels that can replace conventional building materials for roofs and facades. These durable panels produce energy which is then harvested for use in the buildings themselves.

The panels convert the solar energy collected directly into heating, which is four times more efficient than converting solar energy first into electricity and then into heat. Use of locally produced energy also reduces energy loss from carrying electricity or heat over long distances.

Catch Solar’s thermal technology uses the sun’s energy, rather than fossil fuels, to generate low-cost, environmentally friendly heating and sanitary hot water.

The company’s solar thermal panels can be adapted to customer needs, and are suitable for use in private homes, commercial and public buildings, and agricultural buildings.

They can also be combined with electric heating, heat pumps, district heating, biomass heating or geothermal heating.

In addition to generating heat in colder climates, Catch Solar’s technology can be used to provide cooling in hotter climates, when combined with adsorption air conditioning or absorption coolers.

Revenue from the global solar thermal collectors market was valued at USD 19.2 billion in 2016 by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Growing demand for solar thermal collectors for various commercial, residential and industrial applications is anticipated to drive strong growth in coming years.