SOLAR ENERGY IS A WIDELY AVAILABLE ENERGY RESOURCE THAT IS CLEAN, INEXHAUSTIBLE, AND ECONOMICAL IF COST- EFFECTIVE SOLAR COLLECTOR SYSTEMS ARE AVAILABLE.

SOLAR ENERGY IS A WIDELY AVAILABLE ENERGY RESOURCE THAT IS CLEAN, INEXHAUSTIBLE, AND ECONOMICAL IF COST- EFFECTIVE SOLAR COLLECTOR SYSTEMS ARE AVAILABLE. RECENT RESEARCH INDICATES THAT FREON PHASE-CHANGE SOLAR HEATING SYSTEMS HAVE SIGNIFICANT ADVANTAGES (I.E., HIGH EFFICIENCY, CORROSION-FREE, FREEZE-PROOF, RELIABLE, AND ECONOMICAL) AND WILL CAUSE A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN THE STATE-OF-THE-ART SOLAR EQUIPMENT, BUT FURTHER RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ARE NEEDED TO OBTAIN THE MOST RELIABLE, COST-EFFECTIVE, AND OPTIMIZED SYSTEMS. RESEARCH WILL BE CONDUCTED TO INVESTIGATE THE FEASI- BILITY OF DEVELOPING A PASSIVE PUMPING MODULE (PPM) THAT CAN CONTROL AND CIRCULATE FREON IN PHASE-CHANGE SOLAR SYSTEMS. THE PPM SHOULD BE PACKAGED IN A SINGLE UNIT AND SHOULD BE ECONOMICAL, EFFICIENT, RELIABLE, AND SIMPLE TO INSTALL. THE RESEARCH ALSO WILL INVESTIGATE THE FEASIBILITY OF ALUMINUM TOP-FED HEAT PIPE SOLAR COLLECTORS THAT ARE HIGHLY COST-EFFECTIVE AND ARE IDEAL FOR USE WITH THE PPM IN FREON PHASE-CHANGE SOLAR SYSTEMS. ALSO, THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING A SIMPLE ANALYTICAL COMPUTER MODEL OF THE PPM PHASE-CHANGE SOLAR SYSTEMS WILL BE INVESTIGATED.