In Austria solar thermal systems for hot water preparation and swimming pool heating faced a first boom period already in the 1980ies. At the beginning of the 1990ies it was possible to develop a considerable market in the field of solar combi systems for hot water and space heating. In the period between the year 2002 and 2009 the solar thermal market grew significantly and reached the peak in 2009 due to rising oil prices but also due to new applications in the multifamily house sector, the tourism sector as well as with new applications in solar assisted district heating and industrial process. After this phase of massive growths, the sector is facing a declining market in the ninth year in a row. In 2018 a certain stabilization of the market can be observed.

Market development of solar thermal collectors in Austria until 2018. Source: AEE INTEC
By the end of the year 2016 approx. 5.2 million m2 of solar thermal collectors were in operation. This corresponds to an installed thermal capacity of 3.6 GWth. The solar yield of the solar thermal systems in operation is equal to 2,130 GWhth. The avoided CO2-emissions are 426,473 tons.
In 2016 a total of 111,930 m2 solar thermal collectors were installed, which corresponds to an installed thermal capacity of 78.4 MWth. The development of the solar thermal collector market in Austria was characterized by a decrease of the sales figures of 19 % in 2016. The export rate of solar thermal collectors rose up to 83 %.
The turnover of the Austrian solar thermal industry was estimated with 196 million Euros for the year 2016. Therefore approx. 1,600 full time jobs can be numbered in the solar thermal business.