Customer Reviews

Solar Electricity Handbook: A Simple, Practical Guide to Solar Energy-Designing and Installing Photovoltaic Solar Electric Systems

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a newbie to solar power, I was worried that this book would be too technical for me, but I have been pleasantly surprised. I bought this book along with another one and this is definately the best for its clear descriptions, level of detail and general readability.

The book gives a lot of practical advice and from the very beginning it is obvious that the author knows what he is talking about. The book covers the subject very well and I feel confident that I will be able to install my off-grid solar electric system easily based on the practical experience shown in this book. The authors web site also provides a lot of really useful information including a superb project calculator that should be the first stop for anyone considering solar power.

Highly recommended.

I love this book! The information is unbiased and to the point. It explains what solar electricity systems are currently available and how they work. It lists the advantages and disadvantages of solar energy components and systems and walks you through how to select, cost, implement and maintain the best system for your needs.
It's associated web site provides nifty calculators which do all the complicated math for you.

It explains electricity and solar electricity so simply and concisely that I am planning to use it to teach my 10 year old daughter about electricity.

This book is a great introductory book for someone thinking about taking on a small to medium size solar project. The book starts from fundamentals and does not assume any prior knowledge. It clearly explains theoretical concepts which are required later to help the designer.
For a solar project to be successful a considerable amount of thinking and planning needs to be done up front. The author leads the reader through the design process and discusses the various options that a designer is presented with. Attempting to make decisions without this information could prove to be very expensive making the book a complete bargain. The book uses the example of a vacation house installation to explain how decisions could be made for a particular project.

In addition to the design and installation guidance, the book includes quite a bit of useful data for the US and UK reader.

- Solar Insulation values
- Latitude and Sun height charts
- Typical Power Consumption figures

In conclusion, the book is an excellent purchase for anyone contemplating taking on a solar electricity project. The information is presented clearly and is well organised. It is not intimidating for the beginner but also provides useful reference information for the more experienced.

I wanted to learn more about photovoltaic panels so I bought this book. I found the book simple and interesting to read with the concepts well explained. As an Architect, I appreciated the thoroughness leading to ready evaluation and possible application to my own projects.

I was a little hesitant about the author being based in the UK with different power systems and a locale different than here in the USA, but he did an admirable job of provding information relevant to both sides of the Atlantic.

Very pleased with this purchase. I certainly recommend it.

D. Thomson

Here are the good points:
1. The book is well written and organized.
2. It is fairly well up-to-date when discussing costs.

Here are the weak points:
1. 36 out of 181 pages have to do with solar insolation. You can get information on this for your location on the internet,
and should not have been put in the book.
2. Not enough research was done into REAL equipment. He should have discussed some of most popular types of equipment on
the market today, like SunnyBoy Outback, etc.
3. The inovations into solar cell and thin-film technology are not covered in enough detail. Thin-film is likely to drop
below $1/watt soon. Some dealers are below $2/watt on polycrystalline panels now.
4. The author is from the UK, so I am not sure this is the best choice for USA readers. No offensive intended.
5. More information about state and federal tax credits and such is needed. A large portion of the cost of a system can be
recouped with these incentives.
6. Instead of insolation tables and verbage, a single page map with insolation zones would have told the story, no map was
included.

Let me set this review up by saying I'm an electrical engineer, although I didn't have much experience in solar or battery systems. I wanted a book to get me up to speed on solar systems so I could build a home project. At first glance the book appears a little lightweight, maybe because it didn't follow the format of typical technical handbooks. However, after working through the book on my project I found it delightful and very effective. He leads you step-by-step in analyzing the situation and designing your system. Just a few comments... it's a British book so socially-isolated US readers will get to puzzle a few of the terms. A glossary would have been nice, but not essential. If you are thinking of designing a system I recommend modeling the system on a spreadsheet like Excel, entering in the equations you find in the book. Then you can easily tweak the system model and see what the results will be. I haven't used it but he also has lot's of online resources. the bottom line is if you are thinking about your first solar project I highly recommend this book.

The book is comprehensive and easy to understand. It is suitable for beginners who want to learn about solar system installation and wiring concepts and basic design. People who have technical knowledge will find it very easy to understand. The book should not be called a handbook as it lacks technical and material specifications on solar panels and other necessary equipment and also limited in in-depth design calculation. It essentially provides a basic understanding and practical knowledge for people to start with.

The book does a good job of explaining what the solar-equipment terms mean that you see in magazines, other books, and vendor displays which will help you deduce what type of system you want - there are several to choose from! With this book, some time internet-searching and studying vendor PDF's, a few emails/phone calls, and a reasonable amount of cash you'll be able to assemble a functioning, practical solar electric system of the correct type for your purposes, I think. The rudimentary wiring schematics are very adequate, but there aren't any "standard drawing" type of illustrations, so you need to know how to build and wire, in accordance with the codes that are applicable for your area. This is a book that I'll keep, and I hope that Michael publishes updates over the coming years because this is a fast changing field. Agreed that its a little tough to read and needs to have some fundamental editing and proofing work done on it.

I bought this book for my boyfriend after much searching. He liked it! He found it informative, well written and to the point. We've built an off the grid mountain cabin and want to incorporate solar for heat and power. The charts and wiring diagrams are incredibly helpful.

Great book! If you're looking to get into the solar powered world, this book is an excellent place to start. In fact, I read it twice to make sure I didn't miss any details. Yes, the author is based out of UK, but it isn't a big deal. It helps if you have somewhat of a scientific background (if you understand electrical power, voltage, current, and how they relate, you are fine).