Solar Power
*Real Goods Solar Living Source Book Special 30th Anniversary Edition: Your Complete Guide to Renewable Energy
Technologies and Sustainable Living edited by John Schaeffer
If this were only a good "solar living source book," it would still be a worthwhile volume to have on one's shelf -- but it's that and a lot more. Now in its 13th edition, it's long been the most comprehensive catalog and guidebook available for a wide array of sustainable living products -- solar and otherwise: a Whole Earth Catalog for the 21st century. The catalog's improved with successive editions, in part because the effectiveness, quality and availability of many of its products' technologies have continued to improve. It's no one-stop green residential shop, though; some of the big-ticket items in the catalog can and probably should be purchased from specialized vendors. But it's hard to imagine a better way to start learning about and using products that can miniaturize our carbon and ecological footprints. It should also be noted that green investors can buy shares in Gaiam, the company that publishes this catalog. (That's an observation, not an endorsement. Green investing can be very risky.)
*also indexed and posted at "Sustainability"
Solar Living Source Book ... published September 2007 by New Society Publishers
Solar Revolution: The Economic Transformation
Of the Global Energy Industry by Travis Bradford
A former investment and acquisitions exec and founder of the Prometheus Institute for Sustainable Development says solar power will soon be the planet's energy of choice for reasons more economic than ecological. Bradford's a welcome alternative to the growing chorus of so-called environmentalists who insist that global warming forces us to build more nuclear power plants. Says he,
[O]ver the next few decades ... consumers will turn directly to the sun for their energy. This will happen not because solar power is clean and green but because basic economic and political reasons compel us to make this choice. At the point that the out-of-pocket real cash cost of solar electricity drops below the costs of current conventional energy alternatives (a situation already occurring in the Japanese residential electricity market), the adoption speed of solar energy will rival nearly every technological leap in history, even the rapid and transformative adoption of computers, information technology, and telecommunications in the late twentieth century.
Solar Revolution ... published September 1, 2006 by The MIT Press
Solar Water Heating: A Comprehensive Guide To Solar Water and Space Heating Systems by Bob Ramlow and Benjamin Nusz
"Of all the renewable energy options open to us, the technology of solar water heating is the most mature," says Bob Ramlow, who's been designing, explaining and installing solar water heating systems for the last 20 years. Ramlow continues,
It is an industry with proven technologies, established manufacturing facilities, and qualified and experienced technicians. These technologies and applications have been proven over many years and thousands of installations. ... It does not take a rocket scientist to design, install, or use a solar water heater.
Now that it's passably convenient and relatively affordable for millions of American homeowners to use solar water heating systems, our general failure to do so is just plain nuts. Heating water with the sun does not typically require the photovoltaic cells and deep-cycle batteries associated with solar electricity generation. Solar water heating systems use far simpler technologies, and they can be designed not only to heat the water we use for washing, but also to heat our homes. Ramlow and Nusz explain both the broad concepts and specific, practical matters in an easygoing, comfortable style, with lots of real-world examples.
Solar Water Heating ... published June 1, 2006 by New Society Publishers
The Renewable Energy Handbook by William H. Kemp
Kemp offers a major expansion of an already excellent alternative energy volume that he first published in 2004. Sections on energy efficiency, actual off-grid homes, both passive and photovoltaic solar, wood, wind, micro-hydro, biomass, special electrical components and more. Off-grid solar demands the use of specialized batteries, and Kemp provides a thorough and lucid intro to the technologies involved.
The Renewable Energy Handbook ... published April 1, 2006 by Aztext Press
Power with Nature, 2nd ed. by Rex A. Ewing
Ewing provides quick, clear explanations of how residential solar power works, with lots of enlightening and helpful photos and illustrations. There's also a wealth of essential information about wind, micro-hydro, and other alternative energies -- after a lighthearted intro: a whimsical, folksy, 60-page parable, "Dog of the Sun, Cat of the Wind."
Power with Nature ... published January 1, 2006 by Pixyjack Press
Got Sun? Go Solar by Rex A. Ewing & Doug Pratt
One of America's most popular alternative energy writers provides a breezy, readable and informative overview of residential solar power essentials. There's a judicious mix of text, photos, sketches and charts that makes it easy to grasp how solar power works. There's good material about wind energy as well, but sticks mainly to solar. Ewing's $600 solar "starter kit" is a nifty idea.
Got Sun? Go Solar ... published June 15, 2005 by PixyJack Press
Photovoltaics: Design and Installation Manual
by Solar Energy International
It would be hard to improve on this volume as a practical guide to understanding the essential mechanics and physical realities of installing and using photovoltaic power. Superb explanations of the basics of photovoltaics, clear introductions to the requisite electrical components, easy-to-understand and -use component and wiring diagrams, lots more. A must-have for anyone who's actually putting up some PV panels. Check out SEI's website.
Photovoltaics ... published September 1, 2004 by New Society Publishers
The Solar House by Daniel D. Chiras
Photovoltaic cells don't enter the picture in this volume. Instead, the focus is on all-season passive temperature control through solar- oriented design and construction techniques that should be basic to all new homes. Included are good sections on maintaining air quality in a passively conditioned environment and on energy-efficient (i.e., relatively clean-burning) wood heating systems.
The Solar House ... published October 1, 2002 by Chelsea Green
Consumer Guide to Solar Energy, 3rd ed.
by Scott Sklar & Kenneth Sheinkopf
An inexpensive and very concise overview of most common, practical applications of solar power. This simple little paperback covers the history of solar energy, solar water heating (for many people, the most practical way to start using residential solar power), photovoltaics, solar water purification, solar cooking, passive temperature conditioning -- and finding the financial resources to pay for solar.
Consumer Guide to Solar Energy ... published August 25, 2002 by Bonus Books
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