Our goal was to design and monitor a hybrid solar system/ground loop which automatically assists the standard, thermostatically controlled home heating/cooling system. The input from the homeowner was limited to normal thermostat operations. During the course of the project it was determined that to effectively gather data and control the various component interactions, a micro-computer based control system would also allow the HVAC system to be optimized by simple changes to software. This flexibility in an untested concept helped us to achieve optimum system performance. Control ranged from direct solar heating and direct ground loop cooling modes, to assistance of the heat pump by both solar space and ground loop. Sensors were strategically placed to provide data on response of the Trombe wall (surface, 4 in. deep, 8 in. deep), and the ground loop (inlet, 3/4 length, outlet). Micro-computer hardware and computer programs were developed to make cost effective decisions between the various modes of operation. Although recent advances in micro-computer hardware make similar control systems more readily achievable utilizing standard components, attention to the decision making criteria will always be required.

This paper discusses the use of ORACLE at the Fusion Experiments Analysis Facility (FEAF) for the laser program of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The mission of this VAX based computing facility is to aid laser program scientists and engineers develop their understanding of inertial confinement fusion target behavior. We have incorporated the ORACLE DBMS as a major part of an integrated data management and analysis environment for accomplishing this task. We discuss our use of ORACLE through all phases of data processing from raw digital forms to final physics summary data. Applications include: an information management tool for maintaining large amounts of one- and two-dimensional data, a configuration management tool for experiment setup information, and a data analysis tool for maintaining calibration and sensor response data.

Rough estimates of the neutral fraction obtainable from a photoneutralizer and of the power required to operate it are presented as functions of the window and mirror performance. More precise information will become available in the future.