Page 218 - ISES SWC50

completed at SPF increases significantly.

With the steadily growing size of the institute, it is necessary to split it into the two departments ‘SPF-
Research’ and ‘SPF-Testing’. This results in a clear separation between research and development on the one
hand and testing and services on the other. The latter is accredited by the Swiss Accreditation Service (SAS)
since 2001 under the registration number STS 0301 with worldwide recognition as a ‘testing laboratory for
systems and components for the supply of heat in buildings and for testing the resistance and optical-thermal
properties of exterior components in accordance with ISO 17025’. The range of testing services is being
further expanded and now also includes, for example, hail tests with ice balls, snow load tests up to 2’000 kg/
m and 15 m surface area and the determination of the stratification efficiency of water stores.
2
2
During the past years, solar thermal systems and components have become increasingly efficient and reliable.
Now it is essential to support the energy transition with all its might. For this reason, SPF is increasingly
focusing on research of sustainable energy systems with the emphasis on solar energy as a source and the
provision of heat for residential buildings and industry. The constantly falling costs of photovoltaic modules
increasingly enable a broader use of electricity-based technologies. These circumstances are taken into
account by carrying out more and more research projects in the field of systems technology. Different energy
sources, such as solar radiation, ground heat, waste heat, wood, etc. can be combined in order to meet the
demand for heating and cooling as sustainably as possible. As solar energy is mainly available in the summer
months, storage technologies are being researched which allow to make the surplus of energy gained in
summer available in winter. For this purpose, heat pump systems with ice storage or borehole regeneration,
for example, are increasingly being investigated. In 2020, SPF receives the Innovation Award of the ‘Stiftung
FUTUR’ for a completely new concept of seasonal energy storage. In this concept, renewable energy is stored
utilizing an aluminum-redox-cycle that even exceeds the volumetric energy density of coal, oil or methane.

This increasing importance of systems engineering is also reflected in the expansion of the infrastructure,
which is used for both, ‘SPF-Research’ and ‘SPF-Testing’. In the meantime, systems in connection with PV
modules, inverters and air and ground source heat pumps can be tested in the CCT test bench. A mobile test
laboratory with flasher for characteristic curve recording, electroluminescence measurement, IR camera and
high-voltage testing is also available for testing PV modules.

1981: Ueli Frei explaining the solar collector test rigs to councilor Dr. A. Gilgen (“Züricher Oberländer”,
13.07.1981)

2020: The dual-axis trackers for solar collector testing, as installed in 1991. The people in the picture are
participants of the annual Industry Day, during which SPF’s 50 employees present their work.

200 | ISES SWC50 - The Century of Solar-Stories and Visions