Economic trade-offs between the performance of collector thermal performance tests on a Solar Simulator as opposed to outdoor testing

In 1976 a large Solar Simulator was designed and installed at Marshall Space Flight Center. This Solar Simulator is the largest of its type in the country and has a 'working' area of 4 ft x 8 ft. Recently completed comparison tests show excellent correlation with data collected in the natural sun. The Solar Simulator has been in operation since September 1976 and the costs of operation are now determinable together with the cost of design and construction. The authors compare the total operational costs of obtaining test data using the simulator with analogous costs of testing in the natural sun. In addition, productivity is compared.