Having visited Saudi Arabia multiple times, I have had a great experience. In Riyadh, it is rare to see the presence of solar water heaters on rooftops. However, Saudi Arabia has abundant sunlight and solar energy resources, which has aroused our curiosity.

During our visit to the market, we had the privilege of visiting a solar water heater company called Climatech, which revealed our doubts. The company has been operating in Saudi Arabia for 20 years, contracting various government and private projects, mainly providing complete services such as procurement, installation, and maintenance of water heaters.

After expressing our doubts, the person in charge of Climatech explained to us that Saudi Arabia has very low electricity prices and electric water heaters are cheap, with a difference of 5 times or even more compared to solar water heaters. From this point of view, solar water heaters may lack some competitiveness in Saudi Arabia. But in recent years, the Saudi government has actively promoted energy transformation and diversified economic development, encouraging the use of new energy throughout the country, including the popularization of solar water heaters. The solar water heater market in Saudi Arabia is gradually heating up.

According to the person in charge of Climatech, the Saudi government has now started to mandate the installation of solar water heaters, such as in all government buildings under construction in Riyadh city and in the 2030 Vision New City NEOM, which require the use of solar water heaters. This mandatory policy is issued and implemented by the Ministry of Housing in Saudi Arabia.

After understanding these, we also began to pay attention to the Saudi solar water heater market and conducted on-site research. At present, there are already many solar water heater distributors in the Saudi market, with products mainly from Europe, among which Greek brands are the most common, and Climatech company acts as an agent for Greek brands.

We have also noticed that there are already manufacturers in the Saudi market that can independently produce solar water heaters, among which the larger one is Saudi Ceramics, which has two exhibition halls in the city center and operates various bathroom products. Local manufacturers have a clear advantage in product prices, which has a certain impact on distributors. In addition, the Saudi government’s “Saudi Made” policy makes it difficult for distributors to compete with them in government projects.

Due to price pressure, water heater distributors such as Climatech are actively seeking deep cooperation with Chinese manufacturers, hoping to achieve a win-win situation through joint ventures. The person in charge of Climatech company said that Chinese companies can provide production equipment, and they are responsible for all local legal, sales, warehouse, after-sales and other affairs. The relevant raw materials are also relatively easy to buy locally, so they can also apply for the “Saudi Made” trademark.

Because it is not just a one-time transaction, but also includes the supply of installation accessories, technical guidance, product maintenance, etc. These distributors hope to establish long-term cooperative relationships, so they attach great importance to choosing partners.

In the long run, with the continuous optimization of policy environment and the improvement of public environmental awareness, the Saudi solar water heater market is expected to experience explosive growth.