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National Solar Water Heater Workshop Collection 1978-1983

MS MSS 15


Overview of the Collection

Creator: National Solar Water Heater Workshop
Title: National Solar Water Heater Workshop Collection
Inclusive Dates: 1978-1983
Quantity: 4 Boxes (4.0 Linear Feet)
Abstract:This collection consists primarily of correspondence produced by the Workshop relating to the selection of site locations, responses to requests for information, and information from solar energy product suppliers. There are four main types of records organized in four equivalent series: administrative records consisting of general correspondence and papers regarding the operation of the workshop; correspondence dealing with the selection and organization of workshop sites, organized by state; correspondence and product information from commercial solar energy companies and related suppliers; and technical reports and studies concerning solar energy in general and Dr. Mumma's design in particular.
Identification: MS MSS 15
Language: Material in English
Repository: Arizona State University Library. Design and the Arts Special Collections
P.O. Box 871006
Tempe, AZ 85287-1006
Phone: (480) 965-4932
E-Mail: archives@asu.edu
Questions? Ask An Archivist!

Historical Note

The National Solar Water Heater Workshop was developed by Prof. Stanley A. Mumma of the College of Architecture, Arizona State University from 1978-1982.

It was the outgrowth of his design for an inexpensive closed-loop solar water heater suitable for single-family residences and simple enough to be installed and maintained by homeowners with an aptitude for "do-it-yourself" projects.

The workshop began in 1978 with an $11,000 grant from the Small Scale Technology Office of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Participants first spent about 4 hours in a classroom learning the basic principles of solar energy and hot water heating systems; on a subsequent day they returned to spend 6 to 8 hours building the component parts of their system from materials that they had purchased from local suppliers according to the specifications provided by Dr. Mumma. They would then take these home and install them in their own houses. Tuition for the workshop cost $57 (later raised to $75), the materials cost about $550, and installation in the home might cost an additional $100 to $200 depending on the length of piping needed to connect to the existing water system. Approximately 2,500 Arizonans participated in the workshop during its first three years.

In September 1980 the DOE awarded a $1 million grant (DE-FG-03-80SF11444) for a two-year program to expand the workshop to 91 sites in all 50 states. Appropriate locations, suppliers, and instructors were sought out in these sites with the intention that, after a period of initial organization and training, they would become a permanent center for the construction of residential solar water heaters in their area, and perhaps become the seeds for setting up additional workshops in other locations. During this period of organization, Dr. Mumma was assisted by a staff of four: Maurice Ashland, Loren Milinarist, Michael Brennan, and Michael Marinello. In December 1980 Michael Scott Lynn was also hired as a workshop instructor.

During the first year of operation, however, complaints were raised that the program was competing unfairly with the private sector by teaching homeowners to build their own solar water systems rather than buying them from commercial companies, and also that there was a "special relationship" between the Workshop and one local supplier of materials. Although these complaints were quickly answered, the combination of the controversy and the changed political climate that followed the inauguration of the Reagan administration in January 1981 led DOE to terminate the grant after one year. By this time $600,000 had been spent to establish 48 workshop sites in 30 states. The established sites continued to function as a consortium for some time after the funding ceased.


Scope and Content Note

This collection consists primarily of correspondence produced by the Workshop relating to the selection of site locations, responses to requests for information, and information from solar energy product suppliers. There are four main types of records organized in four equivalent series: administrative records consisting of general correspondence and papers regarding the operation of the workshop; correspondence dealing with the selection and organization of workshop sites, organized by state; correspondence and product information from commercial solar energy companies and related suppliers; and technical reports and studies concerning solar energy in general and Dr. Mumma's design in particular.


Arrangement

This collection consists of four boxes divided into four series:
Series I: Administrative Records
Series II: State Correspondence
Series III: Company Files
Series IV: Technical Reports/Studies

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

To view this collection, make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist or calling (480) 965-4932. Appointments in the Design and the Arts Special Collections Reading Room at the Design and the Arts Library on the Tempe campus are available Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Copyright

Arizona State University does not own the copyright to this collection. We recognize that it is incumbent upon the researcher to procure permission to publish information from this collection from the owner of the copyright.


Access Terms

Personal Name(s)
Mumma, Stanley A.

Corporate Name(s)
National Solar Water Heater Workshop
United States. Department of Energy

Subject(s)
Solar energy -- Arizona
Solar water heaters


Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], National Solar Water Heater Workshop Collection, MS MSS 15, Arizona State University Library.

Processing Note

Processed by Warren Van Egmond in May of 1994.


Container List

Series I: Administrative Records
BoxFolder
11 Mailing List: Individuals
12 Mailing List: Suppliers, 1980
13 Correspondence: General, 1980
14 Correspondence: Inter-Office, 1981
15 Correspondence: Hardware Suppliers, 1981
16 Correspondence: AZ Soler Energy Comm, 1982
17 Correspondence: Int. Ass. Plub. & Mech. Officials, 1983
18 Correspondence: ASHRAE, 1982
19 Alumni Conferences, 1980
110 Consortium News, 1982
111 Newspaper Clippings, 1981
112 Workshop Ratings, 1981
113 Telephone Records, 1981
114 Travel Authorizations, 1981
115 Travel Expenses, 1981
Series II: State Correspondence
Larger states are divided into 3 types of files:
Correspondence -- pertains to setting up the local site
Public -- inquires from the general public about the workshop
Background -- general information about solar energy in that state
BoxFolder
116 Misc. States: Correspondence, 1981
117 Alaska Correspondence, 1982
118 Arkansas Correspondence, 1981
119 Arizona Background, 1981
120 California Background, 1981
121 Delaware Correspondence, 1981
122 Florida Background, 1981
123 Florida Public, 1981
124 Florida Correspondence, 1981
125 Georgia Correspondence, 1981
126 Kansas Correspondence, 1981
127 Kentucky Correspondence, 1981
128 Louisiana Correspondence, 1981
129 Maine Correspondence, 1981
130 Maryland Correspondence, 1981
131 Minnesota Background, 1981
132 Minnesota Correspondence, 1981
133 Missouri Correspondence, 1981
134 Montana Correspondence, 1981
135 Nebraska Correspondence, 1981
136 Nevada Correspondence, 1981
BoxFolder
21 New Hampshire Correspondence, 1981
22 New Jersey Correspondence, 1983
23 New Mexico Background, 1980
24 New Mexico Correspondence, 1982
25 New York Background, 1981
26 New York Correspondence, 1983
28 North Dakota Correspondence, 1981
29 North Carolina Correspondence, 1981
210 Ohio Correspondence, 1982
211 Oklahoma Correspondence, 1981
212 Oregon Background, 1981
213 Oregon Correspondence, 1981
214 Pennsylvania Background, 1980
215 Pennsylvania Correspondence, 1981
216 Rhode Island Correspondence, 1982
217 South Carolina Correspondence, 1981
218 South Dakota Correspondence, 1981
219 Tennessee Correspondence, 1982
220 Texas Correspondence, 1981
221 Texas Public, 1982
222 Texas Correspondence, 1982
223 Utah Correspondence, 1982
224 Vermont Correspondence, 1982
225 Virginia Correspondence, 1982
226 Washington Background, 1981
227 Washington Correspondence, 1982
228 Washington, D.C. Correspondence, 1982
229 West Virginia Correspondence, 1981
230 Wisconsin Background, 1980
231 Wisconsin Public, 1981
232 Wisconsin Correspondence, 1982
233 Wyoming Correspondence, 1981
234 Caribbean Territories Correspondence, 1981
235 Pacific Territories Correspondence, 1981
236 Foreign Correspondence, 1981
Series III: Company Files
BoxFolder
237 American Appliance Mfg.
238 American Oil & Supply, 1981
239 Amtrol, 1981
240 A. O. Smith Conservationist, 1981
241 ARCO Solar, 1981
242 Carborundum
243 Combustion Engineering, 1980
244 Control Data, 1980
245 Doric, 1981
246 Doucette Industries
247 Douglas Chemical
248 Energy Systems
27 North Carolina Background, 1982
249 Halcyon, 1980
250 Hartell Div., Milton Roy, 1981
251 Heliotrope General, 1981
252 Hewlett Packard, 1980
253 Highland Plating, 1980
254 Hordis Brothers, 1981
255 Independent Energy, 1982
BoxFolder
31 Johns-Manville, 1980
32 Jones Blair, 1981
33 Kester Solder, 1981
34 Little Giant Pump, 1981
35 Midland-Ross, 1979
36 Midwest Components, 1980
37 Milwaukee Valve, 1980
38 Mueller Brass, 1981
39 Mystik, 1980
310 Nashua, 1979
311 Noranda, 1982
312 Novan
313 Olin, 1979
314 Owens-Corning, 1978
315 Pawling Rubber, 1982
316 Phelps-Dodge, 1981
317 Piping-Products West, 1980
318 Precision Laboratories, 1981
319 Pyrodyne, 1981
320 Revere Solar
321 Rheen, 1980
322 Simer Pump, 1979
323 Sola Roll, 1981
324 Southern Asbestos
325 Southern Asbestos
326 Southwest Alloy
327 Specialty Products
328 State Industries, 1981
329 Suncor Correspondence, 1982
330 Suncor Orders, 1981
331 Suncor Products, 1981
332 Sun Works, 1980
333 Surf Chemical, 1981
334 Taco
335 Terra Light, 1981
336 Thermatool, 1982
337 Thermon Manufacturing, 1981
338 Underwriters Laboratories, 1980
339 Union Carbide, 1981
340 Watts Regulator, 1981
341 Weksler Instruments, 1980
342 Wilgood, 1981
343 Wyle Solar Services
344 Miscellaneous Literature
Series IV: Technical Reports/Studies
BoxFolder
345-46 Collector Box Design, 1980
347 Collector Design Notes, 1981
348 Miscellaneous Drawings, 1981
349 Technical Improvement, 1981
350 Teflon Tubing, 1981
351 AMATEK, 1981
352 Took Kits-General Info, 1981
353 System Tests, 1981
354 Climatic Information, 1980
355 F-Charts Sizing Runs, 1981
356 Non-Computer-Solar Fraction, 1981
357 Arizona Public Service Test, 1979
358 Black Chrome Study
359 Exchanger Study, 1981
360 Jackson, Wyoming Study, 1981
361 Building Permits, 1982
362 Solar Rating and Certification Corp., 1982
363 NASA Technical Support, 1979
364 NBS Technical Comments, 1981
365 Pipe Insulation Literature, 1981
366 HUD/DOE Solar Data Bank Reports, 1980
367 Technical Reports, 1979
368 Reynolds Solar Certification Status, 1980
369 Technical Articles, 1979
370 Publications, 1981
371 Student Handbook, 1981
372 Water Heater Handbook, 1982
BoxFolder
41 Workshop Presentations (1 Beta Tape; 1/16mm Reel-to-Reel Tape)