Solar Power Your Home For Dummies

Author: Rik DeGunther

Publisher: For Dummies (December 10, 2007)

Paperback: 384 pages

ISBN-10: 0470175699

ISBN-13: 978-0470175699

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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 takes the mystery out of this energy source and shows you how to put it to work for you!

This friendly, hands-on guide is packed with tips for making your home more energy-efficient though solar power—and helping the planet at the same time. You’ll see how to survey your home to determine your current household energy efficiency and use, and evaluate where solar power would best benefit you. You’ll also calculate what the return on your investment will be before you make any decisions. Once you’ve decided on a project, you’ll see whether it’s best to hire a contractor or do it yourself. We leave no stone unturned—you’ll also discover how to:

Choose and install your best solar system
Handle small to large solar projects
Heat and cool your house with solar energy
Install exterior solar lighting
Handle swimming pool, water heater, or ventilation solar projects
Create greenhouses or solar rooms
Build, buy, or sell a solar home
Finance your solar investments
Take advantage of tax rebates and incentives associated with solar power
Avoid the worst solar mistakes

Featuring ten of the easiest and cheapest do-it-yourself solar projects, Solar Power For Dummies is the fun and easy way to meet your energy needs with this clean power source!

The New Solar Electric Home : The Photovoltaics How-To Handbook

Cover, The New Solar Electric Home : The Photovoltaics How-To Handbook Author(s): Joel Davidson

Publisher: Aatec Pubns

ISBN: 0937948098

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Rev/Expdd Edition
Paperback
Publication date: July 1987

Good basics, somewhat outdated, but probably best available. This book has been around for a long time. When it first came out, in 1987, it was the best book available. Unfortunately, it has not been updated since then, even though it has been reprinted several times. It has excellent basics for planning and designing a system, but much of the technology illustrated is outdated. With an update, this could be the best book in the field.

Photovoltaics in Buildings: A Handbook for Architects and Engineers

Author(s): Friedrich Sick and Thomas Erge

Publisher: Earthscan Publications Ltd.; No Edition Stated edition (January 1996)

Hardcover: 296 pages

ISBN: 1873936591

ISBN-13: 978-1873936597

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Photovoltaics provides the means to go beyond saving energy in buildings to a point where buildings become energy producers. There are already numerous successful examples, and this design option is now available to all building planners, not only PV specialists. This book aims to enable architects and engineers without special knowledge to integrate photovoltaic systems into their designs. The chapters provide details of:

components
architectural integration
system design
installation and maintenance
the relationship of PV with other elements of the building’s energy system
how to maximize the overall solar contribution to the building and how to optimize the economics

The handbook forms a thorough design guide enabling all building designers to make photovoltaics an architecturally appealing and energy efficient option. The experienced PV designer will find this book of value for the significant, recent achievements and advances which are incorporated in the text.

This handbook is the outcome of the five year effort within the Solar Heating and Cooling Program of the International Energy Agency. Architects and solar experts from 13 countries around the world took part.

296 pages, 1996, Hardcover

The Solar Electric House: Energy for the Environmentally-Responsive, Energy-Independent Home

Author(s): Steven J. Strong.

Publisher: Sustainability Press (January 1, 1994)

ISBN-10: 0963738321

ISBN-13: 978-0963738325

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The Solar Electric House by Steven J. Strong.

Excellent introduction to photovoltaic-powered houses, including design, wiring, and energy management by one of the design pioneers. Covers both stand-alone and grid-connected PV houses,

Solar electricity is the direct conversion of sunlight into electricity by solar photovoltaic cells. It is a truly elegant means of producing electricity on site, allowing you to take control of your energy destiny and create your own lifestyle without concern for energy supply or environmental harm. No pollution, no by-products, no depletion of resources, these solid-state devices simply make electricity out of sunlight. Solar electricity is the ideal source of power for an environmentally-responsive home where it’s a luxury residence or a rustic vacation retreat. With the right design, the sunlight that falls on your homesite will power your home. Your solar electric system can also be easily configured to provide on-site recharging of solar/electric vehicles allowing you to meet your transportation needs with renewable energy.

288 pages, paperback, graphs, charts, index

Practical Photovoltaics: Electricity from Solar Cells

Author: Richard J. Komp, Ph.D

Publisher: Aatec Publications; 3 Sub edition (February 2002)

Paperback: 197 pages

ISBN: 093794811X

ISBN-13: 978-0937948118

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Practical Photovoltaics, the now-classic reference on solar electricity, offers a unique combination of technical discussion and practical advice. Physicist, lecturer, and solar-home dweller Richard Komp explains the “how” and the “how-to” of PV, while providing valuable information on the industry, new developments, and the future. The book is a comprehensive guide to the theory and reality of solar electricity, as well as a detailed installation and maintenance manual. A well-illustrated appendix offers step-by-step instructions for constructing your own solar module, a creative approach to demystifying the technology. Presented in a clear, concise, and understandable style, Dr. Komp’s contribution to PV literature has been called the “best single reference available,” “the easiest and most complete education on photovoltaics,” “one of the best basic books on PV,” and “the best of the books.”