We are no longer offering this product.
The below information is presented for informational purposes only. You may also find similar items in the category.- FEATURED PRODUCTS
- Solar Panels
- Solar Power Systems
- Productos Solares en Puerto Rico
- Charge Controllers
- Inverters
- Deep Cycle Batteries
- Solar Panel Mounts
- MORE PRODUCTS
- Cables & Wiring
- Enclosures, Electrical & Safety
- Heat Pump Water Heaters
- Inverter Power Panels & PreWired Systems
- Meters, Communications & Site Analysis
- Portable Power Systems
- Solar Water Pumps
- Voltage Converters
- Wind Turbines
- Books & Education
- * Clearance Sale *
- Hot Deals
- Open Box & Refurb Deals
The Solar House - Dan Chiras
Item code | Model number |
EDUSOLARHOUSE | 1-931498-12-1 |
The
Solar House
Passive Heating and Cooling
by Dan Chiras
Edition: Paperback
Pages: 8 x 10, 288 pages
ISBN: 1-931498-12-1
Book Details: b&w illustrations and photographs, appendix, resource guide,
index
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.
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.