Product 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9819 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Review
"An excellent guide for embracing ecologically-friendly living." -- The Bookwatch, February 2003

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.

Customer Reviews

An excellent overview
I like this book. It provides an excellent overview of pasive solar building concepts. The book was really what I expected it to be.

Gives more detail than other books
I've read many other green building books. What I liked about this one was that it really goes into the nuts and bolts more - it give more detail than other books including some of Dan Chiras's other books - which I guess makes sense since it is about a limited area/topic.

A Great Reference for building
This book covers much more than Solar Energy by including many energy saving features to build into a house. I bought a copy for both my Architech and General Contractor.