The first comprehensive study of the development of solar house design in the United States and around the world. The Solar House explores the development of solar residential architecture over the course of the twentieth century and up to the latest designs today. The solar house is often understood as a product of the 1970s, and few people are aware of the influential experimental solar houses which were constructed during the previous four decades, beginning with the work of masters of twentieth-century architecture such as Richard Neutra, Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, Paolo Soleri, Louis Kahn, Pietro Belluschi, Edward Durell Stone, and Harwell Hamilton Harris, and continuing with more recent innovations like the German Passivhaus movement and the Heliotrope, the first house to produce more energy than it consumed, and the U.S.-based Solar Decathlon, conceived as a living demonstration laboratory and recently expanded to include contests in Europe and China. Not only are these innovative projects the models for architects exploring environmentally conscious design today, they hold the imagination of the wider public, beginning with the idealism of the 1960s, the pragmatism that accompanied the energy crisis of the 1970s, and continuing into the twenty-first century with the demand for environmentally sustainable living. The first complete study of solar house design through the decades, this volume is a must-have resource for designers today.

Imagine how often you read books about solar panels and solar power systems and their design and felt disappointed, confused without knowing how to get started and put together the pieces of the puzzle of your much anticipated and long-awaited off-grid or grid-tied solar power system. No more confusion! The book 'Ultimate Solar Power Design Guide - Less Theory, More Practice' is the missing guide for proven simple fast design of solar electricity systems for your home, off-grid house, business, boat, vehicle or other outdoor activities. What is more, this guide is written by experts especially for beginners and professionals alike. Proper sizing of a solar system is very important. The final goal of the design of a photovoltaic system is to come up with a cost-effective, efficient and reliable solar panel system for your home, RV vehicle, boat or business - a solar system that squeezes the maximum possible power for every cent invested. In our opinion, the main drawback of many solar books is that they give too much general information about solar panels and solar components and, if you are lucky enough, just one or two very basic design formulas. Those formulas, however, are far away from a proven yet simple system for sizing a solar system from scratch. Moreover, such sizing information is buried in too much fillers and fluffs you could easily find by just surfing the web. Obviously, such authors limit solar design methods to their own cases only. Ironically the reader's case rarely coincides with the authors' solar case. You feel confused and lost without being aware of how to wire and put all the components of the solar power system together. The mission of this book is to fill this gap by offering a simple practical, fast, step-by-step approach for designing a solar system of any scale, whether simple or complex, intended for your home, business, RV vehicle or boat. The book is written by experts, holding master's degree in electronics, and is intended for those who cannot get started or are utterly confused. Grab the book 'Ultimate Solar Power Design Guide - Less Theory, More Practice' and get your solar powered home, RV vehicle, boat or business today! While reading the book you will discover that our approach to sizing a solar system is just the opposite to the currently prevailing ones. We prefer to give you lots of fast and simple step-by-step universal design methods applicable to all cases, accompanied with many sizing examples - starting from very simple solar power systems and finishing with the design of the more sophisticated off -grid solar power system. Thanks to this approach you will be capable of designing any solar power system or tailor the sizing methods according to your own needs. The book provides 3 general approaches: Business sizing - simple and fast design but not too accurate for every case Basic sizing - not so fast but more accurate, and Advanced sizing - more accurate but not so fast You may choose one of the general approaches, depending on the type of system you are going to use. For example, the fastest business case approach could be used for sizing simple solar systems for outdoor activities. It may be even accurate enough for sizing small solar systems for RV vehicles and boats. The basic and the more accurate advanced approach are best suited for designing off-grid and grid-tied solar electric systems. Grab the book 'Ultimate Solar Power Design Guide - Less Theory, More Practice' Now!

Labor and related costs account for more than half of the price of the average home solar installation. But homeowners can save thousands of dollars with this user-friendly manual, which follows the same process professional contractors use. Through detailed directions and step-by-step photos, veteran solar installer Joseph Burdick and seasoned builder Philip Schmidt teach you how to determine the size, placement, and type of installation you’ll need. This comprehensive DIY guide covers everything from assembling rooftop racking or building a ground-mount structure to setting up the electrical connections and making a battery bank for off-grid systems. This publication conforms to the EPUB Accessibility specification at WCAG 2.0 Level AA.

Revised and Expanded Edition - Includes CD-ROM with Custom Design Software For the past ten years The Passive Solar House has offered proven techniques for building homes that heat and cool themselves, using readily available materials and methods familiar to all building contractors and many do-it-yourself homeowners. True to this innovative, straightforward approach, the new edition of this best-selling guide includes CSOL passive solar design software, making it easier than ever to heat your home with the power of the sun. Since The Passive Solar House was first published, passive solar construction expert James Kachadorian has perfected user-friendly, Windows-compatible software to supplement the design process explained in the book by allowing homeowners/designers to enter the specifications of their design and see how changing a variable will affect its energy efficiency. This is the building book for a world of climbing energy costs. Applicable to diverse regions, climates, budgets, and styles of architecture, Kachadorian's techniques translate the essentials of timeless solar design into practical wisdom for today's solar builders. Profiles of successful passive solar design, construction, and retrofit projects from readers of the first edition provide inspiration to first-time homebuilders and renovators alike.

Passive solar design refers to design strategies that minimize or eliminate the need to heat or cool a building mechanically. This sourcebook of details, drawings and case studies of passive solar buildings throughout the U.S. provides is a complete guide to passive solar design and construction.

The NABCEP PV Installation Professional Exam is the gold standard certification exam for PV professionals and is famously difficult to pass. This book will provide test-taking strategy that can be used to most effectively study for and pass the exam. Code and theory is explained in the first half and will prove as useful background for the heart of the book which consists of practice exam questions and detailed explanations of the answers. It also contains essential strategy tools, short term memory tips and recommended reading which will be invaluable for anyone studying for the exam. The material in this book is not limited to those taking the exam as it will also be, more broadly, important for career progression and helping the reader to work safely with code compliant PV systems.