Solar House: Passive Heating and Cooling

by: Daniel D., Ph.D. Chiras

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Book Description:

From Book News, Inc. This text presents a relatively nontechnical description of passive solar heating and cooling principles that can be used in the construction of homes heated and cooled simply through the absorption or dissipation of sunlight. The author, who has designed a number of these homes, discusses region-specific design strategies, the integration of environmentally friendly back-up heat, the maintenance of indoor air quality, and step- by-step design processes.Copyright 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR The Bookwatch, February 2003 "An excellent guide for embracing ecologically-friendly living." Book Description Passive solar heating and passive cooling-approaches known as natural conditioning-provide comfort throughout the year by reducing, or eliminating, the need for fossil fuel. Yet while heat from sunlight and ventilation from breezes is free for the taking, few modern architects or builders really understand the principles involved. Now Dan Chiras, author of the popular book "The Natural House," brings those principles up to date for a new generation of solar enthusiasts. In "The Solar House," Chiras sets the record straight on the vast potential for passive heating and cooling. Acknowledging the good intentions of misguided solar designers in the past, he highlights certain egregious erros and shows how to avoid them. More importantly, Chiras explains in methodical detail how today's home builders can succeed with solar designs. Readers will learn: - How to select a cost-effective, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly backup heating system. - how to preserve indoor air quality in an airtight, energy-efficient home. - ways of employing green building materials in a naturally conditioned home.

About the Author Daniel D. Chiras is the author of "The Natural House" (Chelsea Green, 2000). He holds a Ph.D. in physiology and teaches courses on sustainability and environmental health at the universities of Colorado and Denver. He is the author of five college and high school text books as well as other books on global environmental issues. Chiras is also an avid musician, organic gardener, river runner, and bicyclist. He lives with his family in a passive solar / solar electric, straw bale, and rammed tire house in Evergreen, Colorado.

Reviews:

An excellent guide for embracing ecology-friendly living: The Solar House: Passive Heating And Cooling by global environmental issues expert Daniel D. Chiras is an "user friendly" architectural guide to choosing and implementing an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly backup heating system, and thereby making any dwelling both cost-effective and naturally heated and/or air conditioned. Black-and-white sketches clearly illustrate the detailed walk-throughs about the basics of passive solar heating, passive cooling, assessing the performance of one's energy system and much more. An excellent guide for embracing ecology-friendly living, The Solar House is especially recommended as a do-it-yourself home reference for the non-specialist general reader with an interest in making their personal home as comfortable and environmentally friendly as possible.

A Brilliantly Simple Solar Design Book: At last -- a comprehensive, easy-to-read, well-illustrated solar house book, perfect for architectural students, build-it-yourselfers and masters of solar technology as well -- who will benefit from the many important lessons learned. My delight with the book began when I first saw its elegant cover. The more I read, the more I realized what a treasure it is. I was especially interested in the latest information on radiant floor heating, ground source heat pumps, and passive cooling. It makes me feel good to know that a book this full of information, yet so accessible, may result in significant reductions in the 44% of total household energy used for heating and cooling. Chiras combines several decades of personal experience with information from some of the best minds in the field. His stated goal of producing a comprehensive and accurate book is well met. Nice job -- get a copy!

Thorough, concise, and up-to-date info for solar designs: I have spent a lot of time researching passive solar designs using books from the library & information on the internet. A lot of books on solar designs are from the 70's & 80's and the designs lead to overheating of homes by overglazing (too many windows). Some of the more current books on solar design gave more vague information, and didn't thoroughly describe concepts and materials. This book has it all! Very good information on all the design elements, such as direction of home, foundation designs, window ratios, as well as recommendations for particular products. The book had in-depth information on all the available heating systems including solar heating, heat pumps, & radiant floor heating. At the end of the description for each heating system, there was a pro/con list that talked about the energy effiency, cost, & performance of each heating system over others . There was a helpful chart on hot water heaters with payback periods for different fuels (solar, electric, gas, propane) so you could compare the costs associated with the fuel. In all of my research, this was the first such chart that really spelled out the benefits of certain fuels over others. The book was written in 2002, so it is very up-to-date with the most current products & concepts.

A must read book! The Solar House by Dan Chiras is a masterpiece. Chiras' inimitable style shows through on every page. Like his other books, the writing is clear and engaging. The book is well organized and full of useful information. It is an absolute delight to read. Most books on passive solar tend to ignore or give superficial treatment to several vital subjects, for example, passive cooling, region-specific design, indoor air quality, and back-up heating systems. And many books still propagate some pretty bad designs. Not this one! The Solar House covers passive solar design and construction in great detail, drawing on modern science and architecture, yet is easy to read and understand. Not only will you find just about everything you need to know about designing an energy-efficient solar home, you will learn about common mistakes still being made by some designers -- and ways to avoid them! It could save you a fortune on construction and heating and cooling costs. This book is useful to architects and owner-builders. Even if you have read other books on the subject, you owe it to yourself to add this book to your library. It's worth its weight in gold.

Everything I expected and more: Reviewer: Chris J Coupland (Toronto, ON) - See all my reviews I highly recommend 'The Solar House' to anyone with an interest in passive solar design. The book is a great primer on the subject giving well informed information on many aspects of solar design. The author does just what I hoped he would... dispelling many of the myths associated with passive solar design. He shares practical experience on what works and what doesn't in the real world for warm and cold climates. This makes an excellent first book to read on the subject. For those who have read others, this is a great source of updated knowledge and a complement to any collection. It is by far the most comprehensive and useful book on solar design that I have seen on the market.