Rating: 
Summary: Worth every cent in having understanding of alternatives!
Review: At least for anyone looking to cheese off the oil and power companies!! I'm not a bleeding heart, but I do kind of have to live on this planet! If I can do so without mucking it up, well, that's probably a good thing. This book made it easy to clean up at least my own act!This book has paid for itself a dozen times over in the money I have saved in electrical costs! The tech chapters were over my head, but my electrician understood them and (thank God) was willing to try something new! A fine book!!
Rating:
Summary: Worth every cent in having understanding of alternatives!
Review: At least for anyone looking to cheese off the oil and power companies!! I'm not a bleeding heart, but I do kind of have to live on this planet! If I can do so without mucking it up, well, that's probably a good thing. This book made it easy to clean up at least my own act! This book has paid for itself a dozen times over in the money I have saved in electrical costs! The tech chapters were over my head, but my electrician understood them and (thank God) was willing to try something new! A fine book!!
Rating:
Summary: An ABSOLUTE MUST HAVE!!!
Review: At least for anyone looking to cheese off the oil and power companies!! This book has paid for itself a dozen times over in the money I have saved in electrical costs! The tech chapters were over my head, but my electrician understood them and (thank God) was willing to try something new! A fine book!!
Rating: 
Summary: A fair introduction to Alternative energy sources
Review: Be aware that this product is 25% information and 75% sales catalog. It provides a brief overview of a particular technology and then presents the reader with many pages of products addressing that technology. Whilst this is a useful introduction to (say) wind generators for home use, $... is a lot of money to charge for a catalog. This book/catalog tries to address everything from passive solar to hydro-electric power generation, but doesn't really do a great job on any of it. Not a bad introduction, but certainly not a "must have' kind of book.
Rating: 
Summary: Way Over my Head
Review: Even though I hold a masters degree I am not able to follow the techno lingo in this book. It seems its written by engeneers for wanna-be-engeneers. It holds some interesting descriptions on appliances and other solar gadgets but it is certainly not for the everage person intersted in the solar energy field. Is it not possible to write a simple book. This kind of book hurts more then it helps because it dicourages.
Rating:
Summary: A necessary book for all interested in effficient living
Review: From novices to pros, this book explains Renewable energy and efficient building practices. Great reference to start design and cost estimation from each section. One of the best features of this book is the addition of the National Electric Code for RE systems. It's possible to pick a building material to build a house, design a solar electric system, decide on appliances, determine the use of a greywater system, and more from 562 pages. No more looking up pages on the net!
Rating:
Summary: A necessary book for all interested in effficient living
Review: From novices to pros, this book explains Renewable energy and efficient building practices. Great reference to start design and cost estimation from each section. One of the best features of this book is the addition of the National Electric Code for RE systems. It's possible to pick a building material to build a house, design a solar electric system, decide on appliances, determine the use of a greywater system, and more from 562 pages. No more looking up pages on the net!
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent book in general, but watch out for the agenda..
Review: I found some chapters to be excellent, others less so. The less technical chapters especially seemed to be a lot of "feel good" inspiration without a lot of practical value unless you live in a place with good rain, moderate climate, running streams, and no neighbors. Lotsa luck. The technical chapters on solar and energy savings were much better, and make up about 75% of the book. Well worth the money, but some of the editorial comment reminds of the sixties
Rating:
Summary: Way Over my Head
Review: I found this book to be a very informative and well researched compendium of information for those who wish to learn more about independant living. This book is an excellent mixture of common sense advice (based on real world experience), technical information and a practical guide to a myriad of products. It may not be everything I wanted to know about a new subject but it comes as close to delivering that as any book I have ever read. Good job!
Rating:
Summary: An Outstanding Starter and Referrence
Review: I found this book to be a very informative and well researched compendium of information for those who wish to learn more about independant living. This book is an excellent mixture of common sense advice (based on real world experience), technical information and a practical guide to a myriad of products. It may not be everything I wanted to know about a new subject but it comes as close to delivering that as any book I have ever read. Good job!
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