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   (1) Market comparison for three types of heater
   Nowadays, there are three types of domestic use heater: gas heater, electric heater and solar heater each with special feature and for different customers.
   Gas heater: high heating effect, constant hot water supply in heavy volume, convenient use. The implementation of the nation’s policy of “prohibiting direct exhaust and promoting forced exhaust” and attaching priority to developing gas industry after completion of “Delivery of West Gas to the East Project” provides certain market for development of gas heater industry.
   Electric heater: convenient use, popularity especially in small town and rural area where gas is unavailable.
   Solar heater: environmentally friendly, energy saving, safe and easy to use, welcomed by customers. Survey on purchase potential among three types of heater shows solar heater is on high potential and other two are on decline. Capacity of an ordinary solar heater is 70L～260L. 70% of hot water required for daily life can be provided by solar heater. Furnished with auxiliary heating device, solar heater may supply hot water 24 hours a day whole year. Solar heater can be installed with different building, for example, on flat roof, pyramid roof and balcony of high rise. Solar heater is being developed in the trend from micro-pressurized to pressurized, in more reasonable and nice looking design and for more convenient use. In the case of panel heater, it is applicable for whole year, installed with auxiliary freezing-preventive device and more reliable. Solar heater is free from pollution, energy saving, environmentally friendly, safe, free from using cost, excellent in economic effect. Thanks to China’s favorite policy for solar heater industry and its significant market potential, the solar heater prospect will be great.
   (2) Market analysis
   After more than one decade market growth since 1990s, solar heater market has entered a full scale kick-off time. The emerging conventional energy crisis further speeds up solar heater market development.
   In Chinese cities and towns, families with heater are: 57.4% with gas heater, 31.3% with electric heater and only 7.6% with solar heater. The ratio of purchase potential for city and town families revealed in surveys for the three types of heater becomes 35.8%, 30.2% and 23.2%. It can be concluded that the solar heater ratio will be increasing and challenging gas heater and electric heater. Owing to its environmentally friendly, economic and renewable energy features, solar heater is more and more welcomed in cities and remote areas. Solar heater is enjoying a golden age of fast development.
   The market potential for solar heater will be huge. Experts in the industry analyze that future solar heater market is characterized as follows:
   First, China’s energy saving reducing exhaust strategy put in place since 2005 provides unprecedented support for solar heater industry. In 2007, the Seventeen Session of People’s Congress put bio-civilization, formulating an industrial structure, grown pattern and consumption model of saving energy resources and protecting bio-environment on developing strategic height. At present, many local governments have promulgated and relevant energy saving exhaust reducing measure and are implementing it. Giving priority to developing renewable energy like wind power, hydropower, biological energy, nuclear power and solar power has become the important task of the strategy.  Relevant statistics shows total area of newly constructed building in China is 2,000,000,000 sq.m, 50% of world’s total. It also reveals that building energy consumption is 20% of all energy consumption. Presently, compulsory energy saving measures are being promoted in many places where building energy saving standard is improved to 65% and above. The standard may not be achieved with simply construction material renovation, hence solar energy becomes the perfect choice.
   Second, the policy of compulsory installation of solar heater on building also contributes to the fast development of solar industry. In 2007, the policy for solar industry was undergoing regularization and reform. China’s “Renewable Energy Growth Program” requires that availability of solar heater should be 150,000,000 sq.m and 300,000,000 sq.m respectively for 2010 and 2020, replacing standard coal of 22,500,000 tons and 45,000,000 tons respectively or equivalent to 70,000,000,000kW and 140,000,000,000kW power respectively. The solar industry development dramatically improves living standard of citizens in cities, towns and rural regions. It is expected the market potential is great.
   The Ministry of Construction issued the regulation that new building must be installed with solar heaters for its occupiers. So far, many province and cities have promoted the policy to much extent and are pushing the integration of building with solar energy. For instance, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Hainan, Shandong, Gansu, Shenzhen, Zhejiang clearly demand buildings of not more than 12 stories should be furnished with solar water supply system. At the same time, China’s Development and Reform Committee ordered to stop production of electric heater and gas heater from 2015. These polices provides win-win opportunities for solar energy utilization and so called unprecedented time for the industry.
   Third, the booming housing development, especially in 2nd level and 3rd level cities, injects stimulus for solar industry. In course of rapid urbanization, real estate related economy is hot and rising. A new target has loomed in housing industry: developing energy saving and environmentally friendly housing scheme. In this respect, the Ministry of Construction has put preference to energy and land saving housing and public building for which solar energy is first choice. Solar energy access to real estate is the solar energy industry’s desire and estate developers’ wish, creating a multi-win situation among companies, developers and consumers.
   Solar heater tends to be split gradually for convenient installation, easy application and nice integration with building as China’s building is high rising. Among those split type solar heater solutions, panel heaters meet all requirement due to its highly efficient heating system, unique conductivity, flexible furnishing on building and safety, all better than vacuum tube heaters.