Solar House: A Guide for the Solar Designer by Terry Galloway

Product Description

Covering the full life span of the project, from siting issues through specific design features to maintenance of the property and equipment, this is a comprehensive guide to designing, planning and building a solar house.

The author uses his experience of living in a solar house to inform the reader of the technology and practices needed for the design, operation and maintenance of the solar home. Each of the technologies of the house, such as space heating and cooling, domestic hot water and electric power technologies, are critiqued from the point of view of the owner/resident, with the author using his thirty years experience of living in a solar home. This provides home owners who are thinking of going solar with first hand evidence of best practice, and provides the architect and designer with the knowledge of how to best satisfy their clients needs.

* Provides essential information for the solar designer and contractor
* Gives an insight into the authors experience of living in a solar house to advise on best practice
* Informs about the latest technology and methods for maintenance of the solar home
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #716667 in Books
Published on: 2004-04-19
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
240 pages
Editorial Reviews

Review
'The book that [Terry Galloway] has written is rich in details and science, yet it always maintains an easy, personable nature'
From the Foreword by Gary Gerber

Download Description
Given how long such systems have been around, the average American consumer nevertheless knows little about solar power. That is changing, as growing ecological consciousness and the rising cost of power combine with ever-more-efficient solar powered systems to make a solar power revolution feasible for the first time. The United States has a seemingly insatiable appetite for energy; in fact, if California were a separate nation, its energy consumption alone would place it fourth in the world. In answer to this ever-increasing demand for energy the U.S. government has invested $1.7 billion to the research and development of solar power. This investment played a large role in the solar powered industry becoming a $2.5 billion industry growing in excess of 20% per year. Covering the full life span of the project, from siting issues through specific design features to maintenance of the property and equipment, this book is a comprehensive guide to d

About the Author
Dr Galloway is a chemical engineer with 34 eyars experience, covering environmental protectection and the advanced energy conversion process. His experience of living and designing his own Solar Energy House informs his knowledge of ecologically-friendly architecture. Dr Galloway currently works for TGN-Intellergy, a company that specializes in developing new green technology.
Customer Reviews

Cool case study, a bit meandering though
If you're looking for the story of one house being built with solar and other "green" technologies, this is a pretty good one. Examples are sometimes the best way to learn. The dedication to scientific perfection in the design and construction of this single house (tile, windows, concrete, automation systems, etc) is what really excited me from chapter to chapter.

However, the book gets a little off-track in several areas. In one section there is at-length discussion about growing vegetables in your solarium. It also veers off into hydrogen and hybrid gas/electric cars for a few pages, which is not really helpful since we've purchased a book entitled "Solar House".

I'd also be inclined to think that a better-organized book with more examples, in more of a "how to" form, would be more useful for the average solar home designer.

I could have used more pictures of the project, too. They never really give us a full 360 view of the house, which, if the book is going to be about one house and how it was built, seems pretty important.

It's a cool book, but there are probably better options out there for those who are going to be getting their hands dirty in the near future.

A newer book based on an older case study
This book describes a single solar house development in 1998. The book is highly academic and written more like a university graduate publication, then a helpful guide for today's "solar designer." There are better books on the market that are better organized and more up-to-date. The book is over-priced for the material presented. I have given it a 3-star review so as not to be too critical. It's an average book at best. The book misleads the potential buyer with it's 2004 publication date.

Solar House review
This is a complete guide to the solar house, with super-efficiency built in! It is a very well thought through design for a super efficient modern solar home. Has a comprehensive menu of things to deal with when designing/building a solar home, including "smart" house features like computerized controls. Very scientific, very informative with lots of examples, photos, charts and graphs.

A must for solar home designers/builders or the interested.