The best on the practicalities of designing a solar home, 14 Sep 2001

The book acts on two levels, acting as an inspiration for all who are interested in the concepts, and at the same time leading the more technical reader through all the principles and calculations necessary to make a good job of designing a solar house. The calculations will enable you to ensure correct sizing and orientation of windows, thus avoiding the common error of overglazing. With the inclusion of local climate data, the author shows you how to calculate the necessary capacity for any back-up heating, enabling you to avoid a costly oversized heating system and overheating of the living spaces.

Half a chapter is given to the design of a Solar Slab foundation, a concept the author patented in 1975, but has now released for general use. The idea is that internal air heated by the sun during the day is circulated through channels in the slab, thereby heating the masonry. The heat is released as the living space cools in the evening.

Also included are sections on appropriate insulation, venting and fresh air systems. The basic house design is standard American, based on six inch timber stud wall construction, but the basic principles can easily be applied to the masonry buildings favoured in the UK. Special sun-spaces are also considered, as are interior design considerations to help make the solar concepts more effective.

The many pages of very useful regional climate data apply only to the USA. If you want to make good use of the book, and do the calculations, you will have to find the appropriate data for your part of the UK. That said, the remainder of the book is the best I have seen on the practicalities of designing a solar home.

 Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)

Essential reading when considering a Passive Solar house., 23 April 1999

The book is well laid out and easy to read and can be interpreted by most people with common sense. Even the foundations are displayed in cut away drawing form in precise detail. The tables are for the USA, but can be easily substituted by the equivalent UK tables. From my viewpoint, it would nice if the UK tables were incorporated though. Further detail on the control functionality of the backup heating and fans would be beneficial.

If anyone is considering building a passive solar house, and does not have a bottomless pit of money, this book is essential reading.

 Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)