Compiled by Se Th MaSia, SOLAR TODAy deputy editor
“Power From the Sun:
Achieving Energy Independence”
By Dan Chiras, with Robert Aram
and Kurt Nelson
New Society Publishers, 2009. 257 pages.
$26.95 ISBN 978-0-86571-621-6
This team of experienced wind and solar
pros, based in the Midwest, has produced a
thorough, readable
and practical introduction to residential
photovoltaics. The
book has everything a
consumer needs to know about buying a grid-tied or off-grid solar electric system and dealing with the installer. There’s a new condensed
pocket-sized version of the book, too: “Solar
Electricity Basics,” from the same publisher:
$12.95 ISBN 978-0-86571-618-6.
Related books:
Chiras: “Power From the Wind,” $24.95
Chiras: “Green Home Improvement,” $24.95
“The New Solar Electric Home,
Third Edition: The Complete Guide to
Photovoltaics for Your Home”
By Joel Davidson and Fran Orner
Aatec Publications, 2008. 473 pages.
$39.95 ISBN 978-0-937948-17-0
Davidson and Orner
together have more
than 50 years experience
designing and building
solar energy systems,
on grid and off. They’ve
put together a bible of
data and advice that
should be considered a
vital resource by anyone
building or maintaining a photovoltaic (PV)
system, especially if it’s off grid. It covers the
same territory as the Chiras book and then
some: Davidson and Orner are also interested
in putting PV into historical, economic and
social context. If you’re going to get your hands
dirty or if sustainability is a serious lifestyle
choice, this is the book to start with.
28 SOLAR TODAY Get Started
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“Solar Water Heating:
A Comprehensive Guide to Solar Water
and Space Heating Systems”
By Bob Ramlow and Benjamin Nusz
New Society Publishers, 2010. 245 pages.
$24.95 ISBN 978-0-86571-668-1
Bob Ramlow has
worked on solar systems for more than
three decades. He
writes regularly for
SOLAR TODAY on
solar-powered space
heating. This book is
an encyclopedia on
thermal system design, construction, maintenance and economics, written with his son-in-law, a solar-thermal instructor at a Wisconsin
technical college.
“The Passive Solar Primer:
Sustainable Architecture”
By David Wright, AIA
Schiffer Publishing, 2008. 273 pages.
$29.99 ISBN 978-0-7643-3070-4
David Wright,
who has designed
more than 500 passive solar and sustainable buildings
around the world,
has created a book
that’s just plain
fun to read. This primer on solar-heated and
naturally cooled buildings relies as much on its
clever black-and-white drawings as on text to
convey information. Don’t look for technical
data here — it’s not a handbook for practitioners, but a wonderful outline of the physics and
imagination underlying good solar design.
“Energy Free: Homes for a Small Planet”
By Ann V. Edminster
Green Building Press, 2009. 238 pages.
$25.00 ISBN
978-0-9764911-9- 3-2
Ann Edminster,
LEED-AP, is one of
the developers of the
Leadership in Energy
and Environmental
Design (LEED) standards. In this book
she’s assembled facts, projections and design
ideas to help prospective homeowners and
builders zero in on site-appropriate strategies
to create houses that make as much energy as
they use. Edminster has a very good handle on
project-management issues, keeping the book
grounded in construction cost realities.
“A Solar Buyer’s Guide for the Home
and Office: Navigating the Maze of Solar
Options, Incentives, and Installers”
By Stephen and Rebekah Hren
Chelsea Green Publishing, 2010. 159 pages.
$14.95 ISBN 978-1-6035-8261-2
This book’s publisher specializes in
topical books published swiftly to follow
up on breaking news.
In this case, they’ve
produced a very
up-to-date pocket
manual with almost-current pricing data,
a good once-over-lightly review of what
to expect in today’s
fast-shifting market. You can absorb this book
in a studious evening, and it will help you make
sense of what your local installers say in the
course of the bidding process.
“Stand-Alone Solar Electric Systems”
By Mark Hankins
Earthscan, 2010. 232 pages.
$59.95 ISBN 978-1-844-077-137
If you were heading off to set up
housekeeping on
your own tiny island
or to a remote Peace
Corps assignment,
this would be the
book to pack along.
The author has built
dozens of off-grid
systems in Africa. The book is dense with
practical data on widely available equipment
and how to use it for workaday tasks like water
pumping and village lighting. GS
