SolarInVirginia.com

The Solar House

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.

The techniques required to heat and cool a building passively have been used for thousands of years. Early societies such as the Native American Anasazis and the ancient Greeks perfected designs that effectively exploited these natural processes. The Greeks considered anyone who didn't use passive solar to heat a home to be a barbarian!

In the United States, passive solar architecture experienced a major resurgence of interest in the 1970s in response to crippling oil embargoes. With grand enthusiasm but with scant knowledge (and sometimes little common sense), architects and builders created a wide variety of solar homes. Some worked pretty well, but looked more like laboratories than houses. Others performed poorly, overheating in the summer because of excessive or misplaced windows and skylights, and growing chilly in the colder months because of insufficient thermal mass and insulation and poor siting.

InThe Solar House, Dan 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--and entirely avoidable--errors. More importantly, Chiras explains in methodical detail how today's home builders can succeed with solar designs.

Now that energy efficiency measures including higher levels of insulation and multi-layered glazing have become standard, it is easier than ever before to create a comfortable and affordable passive solar house that will provide year-round comfort in any climate.

Moreover, since modern building materials and airtight construction methods sometimes result in air-quality and even toxicity problems, Chiras explains state-of-the-art ventilation and filtering techniques that complement the ancient solar strategies of thermal mass and daylighting. Chiras also explains the new diagnostic aids available in printed worksheet or software formats, allowing readers to generate their own design schemes.

Solar Hot Water Systems-Prof Edition

Just before and during the Carter-implemented 40% solar tax credit era (1977-1986), a wide menagerie of solar water heating equipment and system designs were introduced. Often, both homeowners and contractors were guinea pigs. Large corporations such as Northrup, Olin Brass, Exxon, Sears, Lennox, Grumman, General Electric, Reynolds Aluminum, Ramada, Owens Corning, Revere Copper and Brass, along with smaller companies introduced, systems to the market place. Many of these corporation systems suffered from major design flaws, were overly complex, or very expensive. Less than 1 % of these systems were still operational by the year 2000. However, basic designs, pioneered by smaller companies such as Solar Energy Products, Colt Morningstar, Gulf Thermal, Solar Development Inc., Pulstar Corp., and US Solar Corp. were a proven success when installed by factory trained contractors. These systems did have a few component failures, especially with early differential controllers and sensors. Today, 80% of these closed loop glycol and drainback systems are still operational where contractors are available to service and maintain them. After the tax credit era these systems typically saved $6000 to $10,000 in nontaxable income over the first 20 years.

     Few government energy agencies or mechanical engineering departments as of 2001 are cognizant about what was successful during this era. The Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) has had some brilliant test programs developed by Charles Cromer and surveys by Tim Merringan. However, little practical experience with closed loop systems was recorded by FSEC. This is understandable since 98% of the state's solar contractors were located in central and south Florida and used open loop systems. Most of the university and academic papers presented at solar conferences and seminars, other than the Charles Cromer research work previously mentioned, have missed the point. The research has had no useful connection to the real world of solar contracting with currently available products that really work, and will serve the homeowner well. The small details gained from experience over the years make the real difference between a successful installation and a fiasco or "Sunburn" fostered on trusting homeowners. Hopefully, this book will help those who want to use currently available products with success and to avoid mistakes of the past.

     The Professional Edition contains a number of charts and diagrams reproduced in crisp clear full color. This material is inserted at strategic points throughout the book. They say, "a picture is worth a thousand words" and nowhere is this more true than when explaining the structure and functioning of solar water heating systems and their components where subtle differences can greatly effect performance. The Homeowner's Edition has all the diagrams you'll ever need in black and white.

Photovoltaics: Design & Install Manual

If you're considering building your own solar electric system, this book is a must. It provides a good overview of how solar energy systems work and then delves deeply into details of design and installation. An updated and revised textbook manual on how to design, install and maintain a photovoltaic (PV) system. This manual offers an overview of photovoltaic electricity, and a detailed description of PV system components, including PV modules, batteries, controllers and inverters. Electrical loads are also addressed, including lighting systems, refrigeration, water pumping, tools and appliances. The manual includes chapters on sizing photovoltaic systems, analyzing sites and installing PV systems. The manual also includes detailed appendices on PV system maintenance, troubleshooting, and insolation data for over 300 sites around the world. Used as the textbook in SEI's PV Design and Installation Workshop.

Solar Hot Water Systems-Home Edition

Just before and during the Carter-implemented 40% solar tax credit era (1977-1986), a wide menagerie of solar water heating equipment and system designs were introduced. Often, both homeowners and contractors were guinea pigs. Large corporations such as Northrup, Olin Brass, Exxon, Sears, Lennox, Grumman, General Electric, Reynolds Aluminum, Ramada, Owens Corning, Revere Copper and Brass, along with smaller companies introduced, systems to the market place. Many of these corporation systems suffered from major design flaws, were overly complex, or very expensive. Less than 1 % of these systems were still operational by the year 2000. However, basic designs, pioneered by smaller companies such as Solar Energy Products, Colt Morningstar, Gulf Thermal, Solar Development Inc., Pulstar Corp., and US Solar Corp. were a proven success when installed by factory trained contractors. These systems did have a few component failures, especially with early differential controllers and sensors. Today, 80% of these closed loop glycol and drainback systems are still operational where contractors are available to service and maintain them. After the tax credit era these systems typically saved $6000 to $10,000 in nontaxable income over the first 20 years.

     Few government energy agencies or mechanical engineering departments as of 2001 are cognizant about what was successful during this era. The Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) has had some brilliant test programs developed by Charles Cromer and surveys by Tim Merringan. However, little practical experience with closed loop systems was recorded by FSEC. This is understandable since 98% of the state's solar contractors were located in central and south Florida and used open loop systems. Most of the university and academic papers presented at solar conferences and seminars, other than the Charles Cromer research work previously mentioned, have missed the point. The research has had no useful connection to the real world of solar contracting with currently available products that really work, and will serve the homeowner well. The small details gained from experience over the years make the real difference between a successful installation and a fiasco or "Sunburn" fostered on trusting homeowners. Hopefully, this book will help those who want to use currently available products with success and to avoid mistakes of the past.

     The Homeowner's Edition contains a number of charts and diagrams reproduced in black and white. This material is inserted at strategic points throughout the book. They say, "a picture is worth a thousand words" and nowhere is this more true than when explaining the structure and functioning of solar water heating systems and their components where subtle differences can greatly effect performance. The Professional Edition contains a number of color charts, diagrams and photos for the contractor.

Practical Photovoltaics

The classic reference on solar electricity - reorganized, revised, and updated again in 2001. Physicist, international educator and consultant, and solar home dweller Richard Komp writes a comprehensive guide to both the theory and the reality of PV. Examines the past, present, and future of the technology and the industry; details system installation and maintenance; provides step-by-step instructions to constructing a PV module - a creative way to demystify the technology.

Richard Komp presents the theory and practice of photovoltaics in a non-technical manner. Read this book and you will know how solar cells are made and how they are assembled into modules. Included are well-illustrated, step-by-step instructions for constructing your own solar module, a creative approach to demystifying the technology.

It explains the difference between single crystal, poly-crystal and amorphous silicon cells and even delves into many types of exotic solar cell technology.

System sizing, battery technology and failure mechanisms are discussed in depth. It even goes into the "oil company connection."

Solar Panel Assembly Complete How To Guide

This is a comprehensive manual for Solar Panel Design and Construction.This guide will walk you through construction of an 80 Watt,aluminum framed solar panel from start to finish and covers areas that are woefully inadequate in other guides regarding this subject. Fully annotated with photos,all of the time consuming details that some of you may have had/having problems with are covered in this manual.Polarities,string construction,cell selection and series stringing are all explained.And dont worry if you are new to DIY solar,this guide was written specifically with the newbie in mind! There are two frame design options included in this manual utilizing square aluminum barstock or C-Channel.Both are available from most local hardware stores and allows for a chambered (air inside) panel design.In further releases of this particular guide i will get into lamination and the use of EVA,Tedlar and potting encapsulants for those looking to make industry standard modules.However,if you use a heatgun/EVA to laminate your solar cells within a chambered panel to combat condensation,you will be constructing a panel that will last you upwards of 15-20 years! You also now do not have to go anywhere to chase down and find all the compnents you need as i have all of what is necessary to build a laminated or chambered panel here at HSE.

Again,if you want non-misleading,easy to understand information on how to build your own MODERN solar panel,look no further.Our aim is to put forth information on difficult renewable energy subjects and distill it so that people brand new to the subject can understand and implement with the greatest of ease and success!