The bestselling alternative energy reference book in North America—now in an updated edition Want to take advantage of solar power in your home? Whether you’re looking to save on your energy costs by adding a few solar components or you want to build a solar-powered house from the ground up, Solar Power For Dummies, 2nd Edition takes the mystery out of this energy source and shows you how to put it to work for you! This new edition gives you hands-on tips and techniques for making your home more energy-efficient though solar power—and helping the planet at the same time. Plus, you’ll get all the latest information on changes to federal, state, and local regulations, laws, and tax incentives that seek to make solar-power adoption more feasible. Expanded coverage of the technology that underpins full-scale solar-power systems for the home New small- and mid-sized solar products, projects, and applications Rik DeGunther is a design engineer who started his own energy consulting firm Featuring ten of the easiest and cheapest DIY solar projects, Solar Power For Dummies, 2nd Edition is the fun and easy way to meet your energy needs with this clean power source!

All the power you need is already there This third edition helps readers understand the basics of solar (photovoltaic) power and explore whether it makes sense for them, what their options are, and what's involved with installing various on– and off–grid systems. • Solar power is a $3 billion industry, and it's poised to grow to $39 billion by 2014 • By 2011, the United States will surpass Germany as the largest market for solar power products

This series focuses on the environmental impact of resource-based industries around the world, today and in the future. How can the growing demand for raw materials be balanced with the increasingly urgent need to reduce the footprint that is left when natural resources are taken from the Earth and developed for worldwide consumption? It is highly illustrated, with an emphasis on presenting a balanced argument about marrying global development with sustainability.

If you want an inexpensive, environmentally sound source of energy for your home, you need look no further than the sun. Solar heat is not subject to rate increases, is totally renewable, pollution free and requires little or no technology. It is here for you today, and can easily provide up to 50% of your space and water heating requirements. This is a book that simply and clearly explains the principles of using solar energy to heat your home. Anyone building a new home, or renovating an old one can incorporate one or several aspects of solar energy into their design. Taking you through the process of designing a solar home from the ground up this manual is also a basic course in conservation and sustainable house design. If you live in a 'heating' climate, meaning if you have space heating requirements for most of the year then this is an invaluable resource. A house is the biggest single investment most of us will make in our lives - the way it is built and how it operates can reflect a long term investment in both the building and the planet.

Passive solar heating and passive cooling—approaches known as natural conditioning—provide comfort throughout the year by reducing, or eliminating, the need for fossil fuel. Yet while heat from sunlight and ventilation from breezes is free for the taking, few modern architects or builders really understand the principles involved. Now Dan Chiras, author of the popular book The Natural House, brings those principles up to date for a new generation of solar enthusiasts. The techniques required to heat and cool a building passively have been used for thousands of years. Early societies such as the Native American Anasazis and the ancient Greeks perfected designs that effectively exploited these natural processes. The Greeks considered anyone who didn't use passive solar to heat a home to be a barbarian! In the United States, passive solar architecture experienced a major resurgence of interest in the 1970s in response to crippling oil embargoes. With grand enthusiasm but with scant knowledge (and sometimes little common sense), architects and builders created a wide variety of solar homes. Some worked pretty well, but looked more like laboratories than houses. Others performed poorly, overheating in the summer because of excessive or misplaced windows and skylights, and growing chilly in the colder months because of insufficient thermal mass and insulation and poor siting. In The Solar House, Dan Chiras sets the record straight on the vast potential for passive heating and cooling. Acknowledging the good intentions of misguided solar designers in the past, he highlights certain egregious—and entirely avoidable—errors. More importantly, Chiras explains in methodical detail how today's home builders can succeed with solar designs. Now that energy efficiency measures including higher levels of insulation and multi-layered glazing have become standard, it is easier than ever before to create a comfortable and affordable passive solar house that will provide year-round comfort in any climate. Moreover, since modern building materials and airtight construction methods sometimes result in air-quality and even toxicity problems, Chiras explains state-of-the-art ventilation and filtering techniques that complement the ancient solar strategies of thermal mass and daylighting. Chiras also explains the new diagnostic aids available in printed worksheet or software formats, allowing readers to generate their own design schemes.