At present, building energy consumption has accounted for about 30% of social energy consumption, of which the energy consumption required for domestic hot water preparation accounts for a large part. The application of solar water heating system in residential buildings can be used to prepare domestic hot water and reduce the use of conventional energy, and the external interface of the building can also provide sufficient heat collection interface for solar water heating system. Therefore, the combination of solar water heating system and building is a good form of renewable energy utilization.

After 30 years of development, the domestic solar water heater industry has formed a certain scale. Solar water heaters are in the forefront of the world in terms of production scale, product quality, and installation and usage. Various solar thermal collectors with high heat collection efficiency have been developed and produced. and related accessories. However, it is in sharp contrast that the integration of solar water heaters and buildings is still relatively backward, and most of the installation is “after the fact”. Generally, after residents have the intention to install solar water heaters, they purchase solar water heaters by themselves and have them installed by the manufacturer. In this process, architects and construction parties will not be involved.

“Post-installation” will cause many problems: the fixing of brackets and the penetration of pipelines through the wall will affect the original building structure, waterproof and thermal insulation structure, and may cause water leakage; unstable installation may cause falling; solar collectors of various types, types and brands are arranged on the roof without a uniform position, and the pipes on the roof and wall are criss-crossed, which seriously affects the appearance of the building; there are many problems in the use of simple household compact solar water heaters, and it is difficult to ensure comfortable and sanitary water requirements. In this way, the advantages of the solar water heating system cannot be brought into full play, which not only affects the living quality of the residents, but also affects the further promotion of the solar water heating system.

In order to make the solar water heating system play a better role and meet people’s increasingly improved living quality requirements, the integrated design of the solar water heating system and the building came into being, and will become the development trend of the application of the solar water heating system in the future. Integrated design is not a simple addition of solar water heating system and building. In order to ensure that the solar water heating system is both beautiful and practical, it needs the cooperation of various professionals in architecture, structure, water supply and drainage, and electrical. It is required that all aspects of the solar water heating system should be considered in the whole process from design to construction to completion. The installation location, structural nodes, pipeline layout, etc. of the solar water heating system are considered in advance, and can be well implemented in the construction stage, so that the solar water heating system becomes an organic part of the building and plays its greatest role.

The Ministry of Construction also mentioned this technology in the Ministry of Construction’s Promotion of Application and Restriction of Prohibited Use of Technology (Announcement No. 218) issued in March 2004: “The solar heat collection system consists of collectors, hot water storage tanks, pipes, controllers, etc. It adopts a compact and separated layout. The water temperature, daily heat gain, and average heat loss coefficient in the hot water storage tank should meet the requirements of national standards. The solar hot water system is combined with other energy sources (electricity, gas, fuel oil) to provide domestic hot water (hot water quantity and hot water temperature) that meets the requirements of water supply and drainage design specifications. The installation location and connection form of equipment and components should be considered with the architectural design to meet the requirements of aesthetics, safety and convenient construction.” The content of the announcement explains the two aspects of solar energy system and building integrated design: first of all, the solar hot water system must meet the requirements of water supply and drainage design specifications, and be combined with the building’s indoor water system to provide hot water with sufficient temperature and water volume, and the hot water pressure matches the water pressure of the water pipe network; secondly, the solar water heating system must be considered with the architectural design, considering the aesthetics as well as the safety and convenience of installation. These two aspects are the requirements of the integrated design and the key to realize the integrated design.