New Solar Keymark Network Rules Allow On-Site Testing (from Solarthermalworld.org)
The Solar Keymark Network has expanded its range of options by including in situ testing. At a meeting in March 2019, a revised version of the Solar Keymark (SK) Scheme Rules was approved to allow collector efficiency tests in a real-life environment. It is now possible to create efficiency curves and to calculate all values required for a Solar Keymark Certificate by using only the results gained from field-testing. Large flat plate or on-site built vacuum tube collectors, as is typical of solar district heating, benefit from this new option, as do parabolic trough or Fresnel collector units.
In situ tests can now be used as an alternative whenever a unit is too large to fit in a test lab. The extension of SK Scheme Rules had been proposed by members of the ZeKon In Situresearch project, coordinated by German research institute Fraunhofer ISE. As for reaching a global audience, the project findings will be discussed by members of IEA SHC Task 55, Towards the Integration of Large SHC Systems into DHC Networks, at the ISES Solar World Congress, which will take place in Chile in November this year.