Domestic Solar Heating: Historical Development, System Description,Social Aspects, and Future Prospects

Abstract

With the advancing technology, there are many well-developed domestic solar systems with two main categories: active
heating systems and passive heating systems. This paper focuses on a functional heating system which includes solar
water and air heating systems. The main physical principles are solar thermal energy and heat transfer, implemented
on solar collectors and heat exchangers. As for the environmental aspect, domestic solar heating systems can reduce
greenhouse emissions, alleviating global warming. Moreover, with the increasing demand for renewable energy due to
the rising awareness of environmental protection, the marketing size of solar energy has become larger. Solar heating
systems have been a fast-growing technology in many countries over the last decade. Compared with other energy, the
price of solar energy is considered the cheapest, which can help consumers save around $5,000 with a payback time of 5
years. Therefore, the solar heating market will expand in the future because of carbon emission reduction and increasing
efficiency.