The actual service degradation in optical performance of a nickel pigmented anodized aluminium absorber coating has been investigated in order to better validate predicted service life data from accelerated life testing. Samples from the coating taken from collectors used in solar DHW systems for time periods of 10 years or more were analysed for that purpose. The study, which was performed by the IEA Working Group: Materials in Solar Thermal Collectors, utilized results from a comprehensive joint case study on accelerated life testing previously performed in Task X of the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme. It could be concluded from the present study that the agreement between degradation data determined for the absorber samples from the DHW systems and that from accelerated life testing from the Task X study was astonishingly good both from a quantitative and a qualitative point of view. For the anodized aluminium coating the results of the present study strongly point to the fact that the design of the solar collector with respect to airtightness is the most crucial factor in determining service life. The service life was defined as the period during which the optical performance is not less than 95 % of its original value. The estimated service life is of the order of 30-40 years for the coating in an airtight solar collector with controlled ventilation of air, whereas in a non-airtight collector with essential uncontrolled ventilation of air, the corresponding life is around 5-10 years. The general conclusion from the study is that the accelerated life testing method as developed by the Task X group is an efficient tool in predicting expected service life of absorber coatings and is therefore to be recommended for qualification of durability of new kinds of absorber coatings. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.