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The Homeowner's Guide to Renewable Energy: Achieving Energy Independence through Solar, Wind, Biomass and Hydropower (Mother Earth News Wiser Living) | 
 enlarge | Author: Dan Chiras
Publisher: New Society Publishers
Category: Book
List Price: $27.95
Buy New: $16.77
You Save: $11.18 (40%)
New (43) Used (12) from $16.64
Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 22642
Media: Paperback
Pages: 352
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 7.5 x 1
ISBN: 086571536X
Dewey Decimal Number: 644
EAN: 9780865715363
ASIN: 086571536X
Publication Date: February 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
pThe coming energy crisis caused by a peak in global oil and natural gas production will profoundly affect the lives of all North Americans. As the price of these vital fuels rises, homeowners will scramble to cut their fuel bills. Two options for meeting the upcoming challenge are dramatic improvements in home energy efficiency and efforts to tap into clean, affordable, renewable energy resources to heat and cool homes, to provide hot water and electricity, and even to cook. These measures can result in huge savings and a level of energy independence./p piThe Homeowner's Guide to Renewable Energy/i tells you how. It starts by outlining the likely impacts of fossil fuel shortages and some basic facts about energy. It then discusses energy conservation to slash energy bills and prepare for renewable energy options. Focusing carefully on specific strategies needed to replace specific fuels, the book then examines each practical energy option available to homeowners:/p p Solar hot water, cooking, and water purificationbr Space heat: passive and active solar retrofitsbr Wood heatbr Passive coolingbr Solar electricitybr Wind-generated electricitybr Electricity from microhydropower sourcesbr Emerging technologies-hydrogen, fuel cells, methane digesters, and biodiesel/p piThe Homeowner's Guide to Renewable Energy/i gives readers sufficient knowledge to hire and communicate effectively with contractors and, for those wanting do installations themselves, it recommends more detailed manuals. With a complete resource listing, this well-illustrated and accessible guide is a perfect companion for illuminating the coming dark age./p pbDan Chiras/b has studied renewable energy and energy efficiency for three decades and has installed several renewable energy systems. He lives in a self-designed passive solar/solar electric home. An award-winning author of over 20 books, he is a sustainability design consultant who teaches courses on renewable energy, green building, and sustainability at Colorado College./p
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
 Ok book. January 8, 2009
Michael J. Laramee (Jacksonville, FL)
Could have used more content on solar theory and techniques, and less on what is available commercially... br / br /More DIY info would be better. br / br /MJL
 The bible of renewable energy for the home. November 30, 2008
Michael Roberts (Massachusetts and Maine)
This is an outstanding, readable, comprehensive presentation of the subject of renewable energy for the homeowner. For each topic the author presents the principles, salient facts and a range of projects from the simplest do-it-yourself to that which would require a professional installation. Illustrations are excellent. In solar hot water for example he presents projects which range from a mini batch system consisting of a coiled black hose to a professionally installed all weather solar collector, storage with on-demand gas supplement. Based on this reading I plan to build a freestanding outdoor thermosiphon solar shower using cast off materials and to replace an inefficient hot water tank with a propane on-demand all season hot water heater. Chiras educates the homeowner to think broadly and to plan very manageable projects suited to his/her needs. Superb!
Very interesting and readable book June 4, 2008
Michelle M. Reid (Kansas)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Not only did I find this book useful, I enjoyed reading this book. I am not a techy science person, nor do I usually seek out nonfiction, but I found that this book was written for people like me - people who are interested in making some changes in our homes to help our planet and lower our bills. The book was set up with clear chapters outlining the pros and cons of various types of renewable energy sources (wind, water, solar, and more) and how we can retrofit our homes to use them. It contained several comparison charts for the different options described, including cost comparisons, and the author provided detailed information about the information in those charts. The book also explored small changes we could easily make, and there was a section about the future of renewable energy. Written to be thoroughly understandable and readable, this book helped me become much more aware of things I could do to make some "green" changes, which was exactly the information I was seeking. All in all I recommend this book highly!
Good review to renewable energy November 4, 2007
R. McKown (Colorado USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I found this book to be more satisfying that the author's more popular book, "The Solar House". Of course, they aren't functional substitutes for each other. This book goes deeper into renewable energy systems available to address the energy needs of residential buildings and related topics. I appreciate his discussion on conservation, the breakdown of the energy consumption of a 'typical' residence, etc. This book goes deeper into energy than "The Solar House" goes into passive design, providing almost enough information to evaluate and size some systems. The amount of information presented varies by system, as solar photovoltaic and wind power get a more detailed treatment than biomass. For someone wanting enough information to select, size and/or design systems -- or more realistically to evaluate the proposals generated by a systems provider -- supplemental information will probably be required.
A decent overview; left me wanting more details. September 4, 2007
tmancill (Vancouver, WA United States)
30 out of 32 found this review helpful
I read this book cover-to-cover over the course of a couple of weeks. I'm new to the field of renewable energy, so you'll have to take my criticisms for what they are, a critique of the writing: br / br /1) The author frequently repeats himself, and sometimes goes so far to state that he is repeating himself, and that the reader should refer back to a previous section. br / br /2) Many of the references are "so and so claims such and such" or references to the Home Power magazine. It's great that the author cites his sources, but it often left me wondering if the author placed any stock in the claim being reported. br / br /3) The author frequently refers to his own house, which was designed from the ground up to use renewable energy. While this is neat, it doesn't seem applicable to readers who already own houses (with a 99% chance that they're not nearly as efficient, and that it's not possible to convert them). br / br /4) I would have enjoyed more information on solar power, since it seems to be the most applicable in urban and suburban areas. Instead, it received basically equal treatment alongside micro-hydroelectric and wind power. br / br /Still, it's a good book - 3.5 stars - and contains a number of references to other sources of information on the topic.
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