Solar House: A Guide for the Solar Designer [Paperback]

Terry Galloway PhD (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0750658312 | ISBN-13: 978-0750658317 | Publication Date: May 3, 2004 | Edition: 1

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

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

Book Description

A practical guide to creating a solar-powered home

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Architectural Press; 1 edition (May 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0750658312
• ISBN-13: 978-0750658317
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,199,536 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cool case study, a bit meandering though, January 1, 2008

By 

schtinky (lexington, KY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Solar House: A Guide for the Solar Designer (Paperback)

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.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solar House review, April 26, 2006

By 

Fred H. Schwartz (San Rafael, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Solar House: A Guide for the Solar Designer (Paperback)

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.

5.0 out of 5 stars Top 5 book on my Sustainable List, January 23, 2010

By 

N. Tinsman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Solar House: A Guide for the Solar Designer (Paperback)

I am a voracious reader on anything that could remotely fall under the sustainable topic. I was at the library and ran across this book and at first thought it is over 4 years old then add 1 year for publishing and well the info is going to be outdated. But to my shock this book was so detailed that the system about how the author automates his home for energy performance can be done even better today but using newer technologies. So it is relevant. Personally I am looking to build a super insulated ICF home. I want to understand how the thermal mass is going to effect the home so I can right size my equipment. In short the technologies to do this cost money. But it helps you regain your return on investment faster if you take mimic his steps in creating a way to monitor your home most efficiently.