Conscious Choice: Solar Energy Resources

August 2001

Solar Energy Resources

by Kris Leja

Make an informed decision about solar energy and find out just how easy it is to make your home more energy-efficient. There’s a wealth of information available on solar energy. This resource list offers a useful start.

History of Solar Energy

From Space to Earth: the Story of Solar Electricity, by John Perlin. $32.00, hardcover, 224 pages, September 1999, Aatec Publications. Chronicles the history of photovoltaics, beginning in the nineteenth century up to presentday advances. These advances include a wide range of uses from solar cells used for satellite communication systems, to power electricity, telephones, and bringing water to remote areas. The focus is on the social, economic, and political issues involved in photovoltaics. This book is written in a comprehensible way and is easy to understand.

Who Owns the Sun?: People, Politics, and the Struggle for a Solar Economy, by Daniel Berman, John O’Connor (contributor). $17.95, paperback, 365 pages, August 1997, Chelsea Green Publishing Company. A call-to-action book that everyone should read. This book focuses on the battle between solar energy and our current fossil fuel-based world. It also discusses the politics behind the motivation involved in promoting solar energy and demands that changes be encouraged for the ordinary citizen.

Solar Energy Technology

Principles of Solar Engineering, second edition, by Do Yogi Goswami. $95.00, hardcover, 666 pages, January 2000, Taylor & Francis. A comprehensive textbook which includes examples of methods of solar engineering worldwide and includes applicable examples, solutions, and data. Scientific fundamentals are discussed in relation to the design and use of renewable energy sources, solar heating, cooling, passive solar applications, solar thermal power, photovoltaic power, solar detoxification, and biomass energy conversion. Exercise problems further reinforce the text at the end of each chapter. Use it as a reference, or take the course: you’ll really know your stuff!

Photovoltaics and Architecture, by Randall Thomas, editor. $49.99, paperback, 152 pages, March 2001, E. & F.N. Spon. A comprehensive book about incorporating design and function into the construction of buildings. The book also discusses the potential and the challenges of using PV building designs. A text appropriate for designers, clients, and students, outlining the basic principles of photovoltaics.

How to Do it Yourself

The Solar Powered Home, $28.95, 84-minute video. Can be purchased at www.marksnyderelectric.com. This video provides a thorough look at the basic principles, components, setup, and system planning for an off-grid solar home. A how-to-video that demonstrates how to plan, purchase, and install a PV system — complete with tips from leading experts in the field of home power and renewable energy. The latest developments and components are also described and demonstrated using several household installations as examples.

The New Solar Electric Home, by Joel Davidson. $18.95, 408 pages, July 1990, Aatec Publications. This is an expanded and revised version of Davidson’s first book, PV Bible. Davidson is not only a leader in PV system design, but a pioneer. Written in a straightforward, readable style, it covers planning, installation, and maintenance of your system, with details on system components, wiring, testing, safety codes, sizing, and examples. The book also includes a short course in electricity and is loaded with case studies, photos, and illustrations.

The Solar Electric Independent Home, by Paul Jeffrey Fowler. $16.95, paperback, May 1991, Fowler Solar Electric Inc. Written for the photovoltaics homeowner, this book begins with basics and takes you through the learning process. It contains diagrams and useful suggestions for supplying a home with the most efficient solar system, with chapters on system sizing, appliances, home wiring, system installation, lightening protection, and the National Electric Code. It also contains guidance for comparing prices, warranties, and product performance.

Solar Living Sourcebook, tenth edition, by John Schaeffer & Doug Pratt, with the staff of Real Goods Trading Company. $28.50, paperback, 562 pages, July 1999, Chelsea Green Publishing Company. This book provides a good introduction to energy-efficient technology for the layman. It includes energy and money saving products ranging from the simple to the more complex — from compact fluorescent lights for the home to energy and harvesting systems that utilize the sun, wind, and water to make electricity for people. In print since 1982, this book is now in its tenth edition.

The Solar Electric House: Energy for the Environmentally Responsive Energy Independent Home, second edition, by Steven J. Strong with William G. Scheller. $21.95, paperback, 288 pages, January 1994, Sustainability Press. The Solar Electric House provides the fundamentals needed to create a solar electric home. The book is well-written, well-organized, and easy to understand. It demonstrates and breaks down current stereotypes about the dependability and affordability of using the sun’s energy for heat and electricity. The book also provides a selection of the various system options available, ranging from stand-alone to utility interactive systems.

Achieving Energy Independence — One Step at a Time, by Jeffrey Yago. $29.95, paperback, 190 pages, November 1999, Dumis Technology. A comprehensive step-by-step guide that promotes energy independence. It addresses new ways to prepare for power brownouts, storm outages, and rolling blackouts. Achieving Energy Independence provides guidance and dispels the mystery behind solar photovoltaic systems, generators, battery inverters, wind turbines, and battery banks, including wiring diagrams and safety issues. The book also includes photos, wiring diagrams, and a helpful shopping guide.

The Easy Guide to Solar Electric, second edition, by Adi Pieper. $14.95, paperback, 234 pages, January 2001, Adi Solar. This book is a wonderful introduction to solar energy. It provides a simple and entertaining look at PV energy. Its humorous and light-hearted feel makes it perfect for individuals that are not technically inclined. This is not a how-to-book, rather it’s an overview for understanding how photovoltaic systems work. Included are practical tips about solar products, names and numbers as well as which products work and don’t work in solar applications. A very successful publication, it’s currently in its fourth printing.

The Solar Home: How to Design and Build a House you Heat with the Sun, by Mark Freeman. $16.95, paperback, 240 pages, March 1994, Stackpole Books. A guide to building a home that uses the least expensive and most environmentally friendly source of energy, the sun. Guidance is provided on selecting the site, designing the rooms, framing, wiring, plumbing, finishing, and maintaining the home. Prospective home builders are guided through the process of deciding which things to do themselves and which to contract out. It also offers tips on avoiding common pitfalls.

Related Web Sites

Real Goods

BP Solar

American Solar Energy Society

International Solar Energy Society

Solar Energy Industries Association

The Solar Energy Network

Solar Electric Power Association

Solar Energy International

Solar Century

Midwest Renewable Energy Association

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