Quality Assurance of SWH in Emerging Markets: An Overview of Influential Factors in Egypt and Tunisia
Abstract
Solar thermal technologies gained growing attention in the past few years for their diverse range of applications. Due to favorable natural conditions, fuel price volatility and rising heat demand, southern Mediterranean countries present a possible promising market for solar thermal. Nevertheless, one of the main barriers hindering this regional market is the absence of coherent quality assurance and monitoring. This research has focused on assessing the necessary factors of quality infrastructure that can influence a quality certification scheme for solar water heaters (SWH). The geographical scope has been the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in light of its emerging regional certification scheme, Solar Heating Arab Mark and Certification Initiative ‘SHAMCI’, with case studies from Egypt and Tunisia. Research outcomes aim at providing helpful pathways to implement regional certification schemes globally. Keywords: solar water heaters, SWH, quality assurance, certification, MENA