Alternative Energy For Dummies (Kindle Edition)

by Rik DeGunther (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The myths and facts about alternative fuels-and how they impact our lives

As the price of energy continues to soar, so too has the demand for alternative energy. But there's no clear "winner" in the race to replace fossil fuels. Alternative Energy For Dummies explores the current fossil fuel conundrum and society's growing need for more and more energy. Cutting through the competing claims, this book offers a multifaceted examination of alternative energy, including solar, wind, nuclear, biomass, geothermal, biofuel, and other sources. Each alternative scenario is compared to current fossil-fuel intensive practices in the scientific, environmental, social, political, and economic realms. Readers also gain insight into the future of energy production.

Rik DeGunther (Rescue, CA) holds a bachelor's degree in engineering physics and a dual master's degree in applied physics and engineering economic systems. He is a design engineer and the founder of Efficient Homes, an energy auditing and consulting firm. DeGunther is also the author of Solar Power Your Home For Dummies (978-0-470-17569-9) and Energy Efficient Homes For Dummies (978-0-470-37602-7).

About the Author

Rik DeGunther attended the University of Illinois as an undergraduate and Stanford University as a graduate student, studying both applied physics and engineering economics (some of this education actually stuck). He holds several United States patents and has designed a wide range of technical equipment including solar energy platforms, military-grade radar jammers, weather-measurement equipment, high-powered radar vacuum tubes, computerized production hardware, golf practice devices, digital and analog electronic circuits, unmanned aerial vehicles, guitars and amplifi ers, microwave fi lters and mixers, automatic cabinet openers, strobe light communications systems, explosive devices (strictly on accident), cloud-height sensors, fog sensors, furniture, houses, barns, rocket ships, dart throwers, fl ame throwers, eavesdropping devices, escape routes, and you name it. He’s one of those nerdy guys who likes to take things apart to see how they work and then put them back together and try to fi gure out what the leftover parts are for.
Rik is CEO of Effi cient Homes, an energy-effi ciency auditing fi rm in Northern California. He is actively engaged in designing and developing new solar equipment, including off-grid lighting systems and off-grid swimming pool heaters. He writes weekly op-ed columns for the Mountain Democrat, California’s oldest and most venerable newspaper. He has also written a highly acclaimed golf book (on putting) and spends most of his free time attempting to improve his relatively impressive but objectively droll golf handicap, usually to no avail. Sometimes the urge strikes him to play a very loud guitar, of which he owns a collection with far more intrinsic quality than the playing they receive. His hearing has been faltering the last few years, so he rebuilt his amplifi er to go up to 11.

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 2058 KB
• Print Length: 384 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies (April 13, 2009)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0027976LS
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #35,440 in Kindle Store (See Bestsellers in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Easy Reading Low Level Descriptions of Alternative Energy, October 12, 2009

By	David Gurgel (Roseland, New Jersey United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Alternative Energy For Dummies (For Dummies (Math & Science)) (Paperback)

I am a professional engineer with degrees in mechanical and nuclear engineering. I specialize in energy systems for building heating, cooling, and lighting. I have forty years of work experience. This book with twenty-three chapters and 362 pages covers pretty much the full range of alternative energy options that are commercially available or nearly so for consumers. The technical level seems to me about what one would expect for articles in Parade, the Sunday newspaper supplement. Diagrams are few and very simple. (There is nothing wrong with writing for this level of reader.)

Certainly a qualitative discussion of how alternative systems work and what advantages they bring is helpful, but even an interested high school physics student would be looking for more technical content. The book's cover has as the first objective learning to "evaluate the various forms of alternative energy," but evaluation (a comparison of alternatives for example) requires thermodynamic and other technical facts and energy and system cost data far beyond those presented in this book.

After reading this book you will be able to describe in general terms (but certainly not engineering terms) the various alternatives; but you will have little basis for comparisons and selections.

The book has many technical mistakes. For example, the book states, "According to Carnot's law, these smaller power generating machines can never achieve the efficiencies of the massive power plants..." He is speaking here of the Carnot thermodynamic cycle; but that "law" says nothing at all about the size of the system. Carnot (French engineer, 1796 - 1832) found that the theoretical efficiency of an engine operating on the Carnot thermodynamic cycle depends only on the temperatures of the hot and cold reservoirs.

Describing a nuclear reactor the books says, "so there is a need to constantly keep feeding in new uranium material in order to keep the consistent, steady flow of energy that is desired from a nuclear reactor." Nuclear reactors powering electrical generating stations or naval vessels control the power output by raising and lowering neutron-absorbing control rods. New nuclear material is added only during refueling, which take place every year or two while the reactor is shut down.

The book states that steam is produced in a nuclear power plant in "the boiler (this is similar to the boilers used for fossil fuels.) The steam in a nuclear plant is produced in a steam generator that is far different in design than a fossil fuel boiler.

The book states, "Some reactors don't allow the water to boil; they keep it under high pressure and use that pressure to spin the turbine." In every common reactor system, the water that cools the reactor in the end produces steam. For example high pressure water that goes through the reactor in a pressurized water reactor turns lower pressure water in a separate circuit into steam in the steam generator, which is just a big water to water heat exchanger. All turbines that drive generators in reactor plants are steam turbines.

All of us must start with simple descriptions of new things. But one can not stop there if one wants to make accurate decisions. It is not common sense or higher moral values that drive innovation, but rigorous and often difficult engineering together with a knowledge of the economics of energy markets and knowledge of systems installation costs and operating costs.

5.0 out of 5 stars An Informative Page-turner, June 26, 2009

By	Lloyd Long (Newburgh, IN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Alternative Energy For Dummies (For Dummies (Math & Science)) (Paperback)

Several months ago I read an interesting National Geographic article on ethanol. I learned how Brazil's motor vehicles run on ethanol, and how expensive it is to produce ethanol from corn.

But where could I find a book covering the salient points on hydrogen fuel cells, coal, diesel engines, nuclear power, solar cells, maglev trains, wind power, geothermal heating, hybrid-electric vehicles, natural gas, and hydropower? And how does each energy source affect global warming and pollution?

Alternative Energy for Dummies discusses all these topics and more in a very readable fashion and at an affordable price. I read the book from cover to cover.

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly helpful read, June 21, 2009

By	earthlover12 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alternative Energy For Dummies (For Dummies (Math & Science)) (Paperback)

I picked up Alternative Energy For Dummies to learn a bit more about hybrid and electric vehicles before I took myself to the car lots and invested. I've used Dummies before to help educate myself on other topics and always got what I was expecting--but this book really surprised me! I found the author did an excellent job of explaining everything from the pros and cons of flex fuel, bio-diesel, and other alternative fuel cars as well as the ins and outs of their environmental, political, and social impact so that I could make the best decision for my life and conscience. I highly recommend.