Product Description

Residential Energy is the best book available on home energy conservation. This book introduces readers to a home's parts, before explaining all the important possibilities for energy conservation. Readers will learn that effective energy conservation requires an integrated approach that identifies the biggest sources of energy waste.

Residential Energy is the perfect reference manual for: building inspectors, energy auditors, weatherization technicians, carpenters, heating and air-conditioning specialists, insulation contractors, plumbers, electricians, libraries, and home improvement enthusiasts.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #89389 in Books
• Published on: 2009-05-01
• Binding: Paperback

Review
"This work would be an appropriate desk top reference for a wide variety of occupations..." -- Bill Van der Meer, Weatherization Quarterly

"provides comprehensive information in simple but accurate language, without assuming too much previous knowledge on the readerÂ’s partÂ…" -- Karina Lutz, Home Energy

"Â…the book is targeted at consumers, but the content is technically advanced, up-to-date, and well illustrated." --Energy Design Update

About the Author
John Krigger is the founder of Saturn Resource Management, and a nationally recognized expert in the field of energy conservation for buildings. For over 20 years, he has presented seminars and produced publications on residential energy-efficiency, building maintenance, and health and safety. John combines years of hands-on energy service experience with solid academic knowledge, and is the author of 5 books and numerous publications on energy efficiency. His publication Residential Energy is used as a training manual by some of the largest weatherization organizations in the country. John is a Certified Energy Manager of the Association of Energy Engineers.

Customer Reviews

This IS the Book on Home Energy Efficiency
In the home performance world this is called "the Krigger book." It is THE book to get for professionals, and it is often handed out in conjunction with BPI and HERS trainings. I refer to this book more than any other in our company's library. The 23 appendices are alone worth the price of the book.
Of all the books on home energy efficiency, this book does the best job of explaining building science in the sense of how residential buildings perform as energy systems. Anybody who thinks making a house more efficient is just a matter of slapping up some insulation up and handing out a few energy-saving light bulbs will have their eyes opened after reading this book. It has lots of useful drawings in addition to the clearly written text.
Important stuff in this book that are not in the "mental maps" of most homeowners and many contractors include: energy intensity indices (such as BTU/sq.ft./HDD-CDD), calculating heating loads, types of heat flow, defining the thermal boundary and air boundary, air leakage theory and testing (blower door usage), calculating natural air exchanges per hour (ACHn) from a blower door reading (CFM50), heating unit and distribution system efficiencies, non A/C cooling strategies, lighitng loads, light quality and efficient lighting, increasing water-use efficiencies, mechanical ventilation ("seal tight and ventilate right"), indoor moisture load-issues-management, combustion safety and indoor air quality, etc. As you can see, this may be a little too indepth for a homeowner. But anyone working in insulation and home energy performance should be familiar with these building science concepts. Get the book, get the right tools, and get good training!
With all the emphasis on and new funding for energy efficiency in 2009 and beyond, this is a book that should be on reference shelves for a lot of businesses and organizations. I had an extra copy from a training and I donated it to our local public library. I see that Krigger and Dorsi also have a more concise book for homeowners -- probably just as good.

A comprehensive introduction to residential energy use
"Residential Energy" is the best introductory book I have found on the sources, end uses, efficiency, conservation and analysis of residential energy. It is a comprehensive resource that provides an in-depth understanding of how the physics of energy influences the house as a system.

Because the book is targeted at consumers, students and tradespeople, it provides thorough coverage of theory, practical applications and construction details; in accurate yet easy to understand language, without assuming the reader has extensive knowledge of the subject. The book includes 315 pages, 350 drawings, 60 charts and tables, an extensive glossary, 23 appendices and a thorough index.

It is an appropriate workbook to accompany a high school, trades school or college course focusing on residential energy and would be especially relevant as a training manual for prospective residential energy auditors. Landlords, homeowners, renters, building inspectors, architects, engineers, carpenters, insulation contractors, HVAC technicians, plumbers and electricians all have something significant to gain by reading this manual.

If a person understands the principles, theories and tools described in this book, they have a very thorough general knowledge of single and multi-family residential energy sources, end uses, efficiency, conservation and analysis.

Needs strong editor
This book needs a strong editor. It covers many things but is difficult to read because of poor graphics, organization, and sentence construction.