In planning for this applied research project -- designated Prototype Energy Retrieval (PER) and Solar System -- the Bonneville Power Administration's goal was to bring about the design of prototype equipment which would be installed and tested at the Ross Control House in Vancouver, Washington.

One prototype device to be designed and supplied by the Contractor was an absorption machine, based on a lithium bromide - water cycle, which would be designed for operation with flat plate collectors of high efficiency designs. Several other general performance design goals were also selected.

The objective of the installation was to test a potentially commercial prototype, not to produce the most economic system for climate control of a particular building.