The global solar district heating market is expected to expand at a significant rate through 2028 owing to low carbon footprints and reduced maintenance & operating costs of solar district heating (SDH) systems.

Recently, industry players in the solar district heating market have been making substantial investments to finance infrastructural advancements, which has positively influenced industry growth. To cite an instance, in February 2022, Solis Calor AB, a Stockholm-based company specializing in energy services, introduced a system for solar heating and energy storage system design, finance, and asset management. Absolicon, a solar energy expert, and SOLID, a solar heating firm based in Australia, joined Solis Calor as founders. With the move, Absolicon and SOLID agreed to contribute to initiatives, serve on the board, and help build solar heating financing structures.

For extensive analysis, the solar district heating market has been segmented in terms of system, application, and region. Based on system, the market has been classified into small scale and large scale. Under small scale, the industry has been further bifurcated into residential, commercial, and industrial.

The residential segment is slated to expand at a significant rate through the assessment timeframe owing to a rise in construction activities across residential establishments, such as apartments, houses, and so forth. The commercial segment is poised to amass sizable gains by 2028 due to increasing penetration of district heating systems in Tier II and III cities. By 2028, the industrial segment is projected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 7% over the study timeline.

Under large-scale, the market has been segmented into residential, commercial, and industrial. The residential segment is foreseen to grow substantially through the review period on account of lower specific and alternative costs of these systems.

The commercial segment is estimated to deliver a solid CAGR through 2028. Increased investments in the district and block heating systems, including multifamily buildings, industries, hotels, and data centers is expected to propel segmental progress. The industrial segment is speculated to observe optimistic growth by 2028 due to ongoing infrastructure development activities.

On the basis of application, the solar district heating market has been bifurcated into residential, commercial, and industrial. Under commercial, the market has been categorized into college/university, office, government/military, and others. The college/university segment is set to register robust expansion over the review timeline driven by surging prominence of renewable mix for heat generation.

Owing to lower maintenance and operating costs of these systems, the office segment is expected to grow considerably between 2022 and 2028. The solar district heating market share from the government/military segment is anticipated to expand notably through 2028 supported by the low carbon footprint and environmental friendliness of solar district heating systems. In 2021, the others segment was valued at around USD 29 million and is primed to attain a sizable market share by the end of 2028.

Under industrial, the solar district heating market has been classified into chemical, refinery, paper, and others. The chemical segment is expected to grow at a steady pace through the forecast period owing to rapid industrialization and commercialization in developing nations. The refinery segment is foreseen to reach a significant valuation by 2028. Stringent regulatory frameworks to promote the adoption of sustainable building solutions are slated to facilitate segmental development.

The paper segment is projected to record sturdy growth between 2022 and 2028 owing to favorable government standards governing clean energy resources for heat production. By 2028, the others segment is primed to observe notable growth at a rate of over 7% to garner a sizable revenue.