Includes bibliographical references (p. 139).The recent increased interest in renewable energy has created a need for research in the area of solar technology. This has brought about many new opportunities for universities and research centers to build upon existing technology or develop new strategies for handling how energy systems function. Both avenues of research could require an experimental test bench to verify and quantify results. This thesis outlines the design and testing of a simulator for a small solar thermal collector array that can be used in a laboratory configuration to test other parts of a solar thermal collector system. The simulator will be able to repeatedly produce given output power conditions so that other components in a typical solar thermal system can be tested with greater reliability.by Kirk G. Bolton.M.S.E.C.E.