(a) The Congress hereby finds that—

(1) the current imbalance between supply and demand for fuels and energy is likely to persist for some time;

(2) the early demonstration of the feasibility of using solar energy for the heating and cooling of buildings could help to relieve the demand upon present fuel and energy supplies;

(3) the technologies for solar heating are close to the point of commercial application in the United States;

(4) the technologies for combined solar heating and cooling still require research, development, testing and demonstration, but no insoluble technical problem is now foreseen in achieving commercial use of such technologies;

(5) the early development and export of viable solar heating equipment and combined solar heating and cooling equipment, consistent with the established preeminence of the United States in the field of high technology products, can make a valuable contribution to our balance of trade;

(6) the widespread use of solar energy in place of conventional methods for the heating and cooling of buildings would have a significantly beneficial effect upon the environment;

(7) the mass production and use of solar heating and cooling equipment will help to eliminate the dependence of the United States upon foreign energy sources and promote the national defense;

(8) the widespread introduction of low-cost solar energy will be beneficial to consumers in a period of rapidly rising fuel cost;

(9) innovation and creativity in the development of solar heating and combined solar heating and cooling components and systems can be fostered through encouraging direct contact between the manufacturers of such systems and the architects, engineers, developers, contractors, and other persons interested in installing such systems in buildings;

(10) evaluation of the performance and reliability of solar heating and combined solar heating and cooling technologies can be expedited by testing under carefully controlled conditions; and

(11) commercial application of solar heating and combined solar heating and cooling technologies can be expedited by early commercial demonstration under practical conditions.

(b) It is therefore declared to be the policy of the United States and the purpose of this subchapter to provide for the demonstration within a three-year period of the practical use of solar heating technology, and to provide for the development and demonstration within a five-year period of the practical use of combined heating and cooling technology.