Database Software Use
Access to the Solar Keymark Database is granted to Research institutes in Europe and beyond to develop specific software and tools, as well as supporting research on solar thermal applications. The main software applications developed are available below, listed by leading organisation.
German Aerospace Centre (DLR)
The DLR Greenius software is used for feasibility studies of renewable energy power plants and allows the simulation of solar plants. The SolarKeymark database is available within the tool, enabling users to select one of the listed collectors and run simulations using the technical data provided in the database. The new version of greenius including the SolarKeymark database is available here: http://freegreenius.dlr.de/
Contact Person: Javier Inigo Labairo Javier.InigoLabairu@dlr.de
AEE INTEC
Several contributors, including AEE INTEC, develop and maintain SunPeek, an open-source software platform for assessing the performance of large solar thermal plants. SunPeek provides the first open-source implementation of the Power Check method as specified in the ISO 24194 standard, which enables automated comparison of measured and target power output for collector fields in operation. For more information, see this SolarThermalWorld article or SunPeek publications on Zenodo.
Accurate performance assessments require collector parameters derived from Solar Keymark tests, which are essential for calculations in accordance with ISO 24194. To streamline access to this data, the SunPeek team, collaborating with Solar Heat Europe via a European Digital Innovation Hub service contract, is developing a Python package. This package integrates the Solar Keymark database and offers a developer-friendly API, making it suitable for use both within SunPeek and as a stand-alone resource for researchers and software developers.
Once released, the package will be updated approximately once per month to include the latest collector data from the Solar Keymark database. The API access provided to AEE INTEC facilitates these regular updates, ensuring users have access to the most current information.
Contact Person: Philip Ohneweinp.ohnewein@aee.at
Middle Eastern Technical university (METU)
METU Accessed the Solar Keymark Database to support the development of a tool under the EU-Funded SolarHub project (Grant ID. 101086110). This tool aims to provide feasibility studies, including Levelized Cost of Heat (LCOH) calculations, through a user-friendly interface. To that end, METU is utilizing the Solar Keymark Database to retrieve data on flat plate solar collectors via the provided API credentials. The current version has been developed using Python with Flask and will soon be available on the SolarHub project website.
Contact person: Onur Taylan otaylan@metu.edu.tr
East Switzerland University of Applied Sciences (OST)
OST has access to the Solar Keymark Database for maintenance of the Swiss Subsidy List. In Switzerland all collectors qualified for national and cantonal funding programs for solar thermal energy are listed at www.kollektorliste.ch / www.listecapteurs.ch / www.listacollettori.ch.
This is also the case for the new support schemes launched in 2025 for large systems and for solar process heat. The main requirement is always a valid Solar KEYMARK certificate under Climate Class A.
With the direct access to the SKN database, the subsidy list is checked automatically whether the listed collectors still have a valid Solar KEYMARK and/or whether the certificate was modified. If the certificate is not published under solar KEYMARK the collector is removed from the subsidy list.
Contact Person: Andreas Boren andreas.bohren@ost.ch
Technical University of Munich (TUM)
The Chair of Energy Systems at the Technical University of Munich uses the Solar Keymark Database to benchmark (concentrating) solar thermal collector models. These calculation models are then used for energy systems optimization. These methods allow TUM to investigate renewable energy systems coupled to the electricity sector, focusing specifically on heating supply.
Contact person: Amedeo Ceruti amedeo.ceruti@tum.de
University of Stuttgart- IGTE
IGTE has access to the SolarKeymark Database for statistical purposes for their research, for instance data on the distribution of the yearly collector yields.
Contact person: Stephan Fisher stephan.fischer@igte.uni-stuttgart.de