ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses a number of significant differences between domestic heating systems and industrial process heat solar systems. The differences can impose limits that must be observed by planners and designers if solar systems are to be marketed successfully. Industrial process heat represents a large potential market for solar thermal collector systems, yet it has not received a great deal of attention from either the solar industry or the government. There are some significant differences between a residential solar space heating system and an industrial solar process heat system. A difference between industrial and domestic solar systems is that of allowed installed system cost. Consumer products are marketed on the basis of a wide variety of appeals. Another difference between residential and industrial solar systems is in the required fluid temperatures. The economic requirements for any capital equipment in a commercial environment represent the biggest factor affecting the application of solar energy to industrial process heat.
