New Green Home Solutions : Renewable Household Energy and Sustainable Living

by Bonta, Dave

• ISBN13: 9781423603894
• ISBN10: 1423603893
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-09-10
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith

Summary

Green living begins at home, and New Green Home Solutions tells you how. Most of the energy-derived pollution we produce comes as a direct result of our homes - how we heat them, how we cool them, how we keep them well-lit and full of things that make our lives so comfortable. The good news is that we have tremendous power to create change. Renewable energy design, better insulation and more efficient appliances could reduce energy demands by 60 to 80 percent. By embracing conservation and renewable energy, we can win our energy independence and help save the planet. Dave Bonta, president and founder of USA Solar Stores, the largest alternative energy retailer in the Northeast, has written about alternative energy and sustainable living for Green Living, Back Home Magazine, Alternative Energy Retailer and The Vermont Guardian. Bonta has studied renewable energy and energy efficiency for more than twenty years, is a frequent speaker at major green energy conferences across America and is a tireless advocate for green living. Also president of BioQuantum, Inc., a bio-fuels company, Bonta is the creator of BackHome chapters in America and is president of a renewable energy community organization, The Sustainable Valley Group. Stephen Snyder, communications director for USA Solar Stores, left New York City in 1995 to start an organic herb farm in Vermont with his wife, Melissa. He holds a degree in radio, television and motion picture communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has broad experience in communications, public affairs, and media relations. He also works as a freelance writer and has published The Brewmaster's Bible (HarperCollins), The Beer Companion (Simon & Schuster) and The Brewmaster's Recipe Manual.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. 6
Introduction: A Better Life	p. 9
Energy Conservation and Efficiency	p. 13
Passive Heating and Cooling	p. 29
Solar Electricity	p. 51
Solar Hot Water Heating	p. 73
Solar Space Heating	p. 83
Wind Power for the Home	p. 97
Micro-Hydro Power	p. 109
Financing, Incentives, Rebates, and Tax Credits	p. 119
System Design and Installation	p. 125
Resources	p. 134
Bibliography	p. 141
Photo Credits	p. 144
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Simply stated, renewable energy design, better insulation, and more efficient appliances could reduce our household energy demand by 60 to 80 percent. By embracing conservation and renewable energy, mainstream Americans not only win their own energy independence but also make their nation more secure and help save the planet.