Photovoltaics

This is more of a survey type of book than a “how-to” kind of book. It will introduce you to a number of options and help you make decisions about what things you can do to lower the energy bills on your existing home, or to plan a new home with a minimal carbon footprint. Covers space and hot water heating as well as power generation.

This is a very inspiring book! I agree with Greg Pahl, that the future of America lies in action at a community level that promotes and lives sustainable principles. There is strength in communities that pool talents and resources that the lone wolf survivalist will never come close to attaining. This book looks at energy production on a community level, and shows clear examples of how it is done, from the wood chip power plant of Burlington Vermont, to the sustainable community commitment of Willits California, to the wind and biomass energy coops of Denmark, Holland and Germany. Pahl shows us many options for making Community Supported Energy (CSE) a reality in our own communities. At some not-to-distant future time, CSE could be the cornerstone that helps us to maintain some level of a modern technological society as the global economy slides into history.

Shorter and simpler than Kemp’s book, Power with Nature provides a nice clear summary of RE options that will help you to size your system and figure out what will work best in your particular application. Ewing provides numerous pearls of wisdom gleaned from building and living off-grid.

This is probably the best all-around “how-to” guide to renewable energy systems. It will educate you about all the major system components and help you perform your system planning and installation. Covers everything from composting toilets, to PV systems, to small scale wind, to micro hydro, to back up fossil fuel systems. Includes some basics on biofuels, including how to process your own biodiesel from used cooking oil or lard. Some of the other references cover their individual topics in greater detail and depth, but if you want to buy just one book, this is the one to buy!

This is a combination of a catalog and design manual. Use this book to help you plan your new home or improve the environmental impact of an existing one. Covers everything from composting toilets and energy-efficient appliances to solar panels and wind turbines.

This is a practical guide to designing and installing photovoltaic systems. This book is for the building and RE professional, or for the owner builder who wants to design and install his own system. This book will show you how to do it right and per the proper building codes. Includes several valuable appendices such as: solar data, sun charts, and work sheets for system sizing and design. This is not a basic electrical wiring textbook, so if you have little practical experience with standard house wiring, then you will also need to purchase a basic house wiring manual to accompany this text. Additionally, I suggest that you spend a fair amount of time picking your RE supplier’s brain to help you select your components, as this book does not recommend specific brands and hardware.