This book is written specifically for the potential PV (photovoltaic, meaning solar panels) homeowner. It starts with the basics and takes you through the learning process. It contains diagrams and recommendations on choosing the components for a successful solar-powered home. It has chapters on system sizing, appliances, home wiring, system installation, lightning protection and the National Electrical Code (NEC). If you are considering moving "off-the-grid" or just want to take a first step in understanding an "alternative energy," you need this book.

The author has designed over 100 photovoltaic systems, including the world's first solar electric neighborhood. His book covers all aspects of photovoltaic from the history and economics of solar power to the nuts and bolts of panels, balance- of- systems equipment, system sizing, installation, utility-interties, stand-alone PV systems, and wiring. Extensively illustrated, this book will tell you everything you need to know in order to decide if photovoltaics are a good energy choice for your home.

This is a comprehensive guide to modern wind machines. It explains how wind energy works and how you can tap this abundant renewal resource. It explains how to measure the wind, how to estimate the output from typical wind turbines, how to evaluate the best technology for each application, and how to install and operate a small wind power system safely.

This somewhat unique book tells how to design and build a house using straw bale construction -- an exceptionally durable and inexpensive option. What's more it's fun -- the technique is easy to learn and easy to use. And the resulting living spaces are unusually quiet and comfortable. Straw bale construction has many benefits, including super- insulation, good indoor air quality and noise reduction, speedy construction, with construction cost as little as $10 per square foot.

For more than 20 years, In Harmony with Nature has been the classic book on building your home in the woods, and Country Comforts has been the guiding light for all those who have wanted to create their own homestead. Now the two classics have been combined into one marvelous book, and carefully updated--all the homesteads, techniques, and skills needed to build and live in the ultimate country house. It includes barns, saunas, wells, and fences. The construction methods have been developed through trial and error, as a means of solving problems as they arose. Here, in delightful first-person descriptions, are the stories behind the choice of designs, tools, and techniques--including how they cleared the land, chose the specific locations for their homes, designed layouts that suited their needs and personalities, laid foundations, installed drainage systems, framed windows, filled cracks, raised the roof rafters, farmed the land, and penned the livestock. Over 400 diagrams and photographs show each step in assembly and convey the love and struggle of people determined to forge their own special abode out of natural materials in unspoiled countryside, and to live off the land in harmony with nature. 288 pages, 400 b/w illus.

Build a home using logs, adobe, stone, cordwood, new pole, rammed earth, or earth-sheltered methods for less money and lower energy costs. "Includes information and diagrams detailed enough to construct seven different homes,...an unbiased, unglamorized, nitty-gritty understanding of what goes into constructing the different styles."--Green Living. 384 pages, 436 2-color illus., 517 b/w illus., 8 x 10 3/4. pp

From buying land and drawing floor plans to choosing log styles and joinery, every phase of construction is covered in over 800 photos and drawings with complete how-to instructions. From the experts at Popular Science. "Whether you need to know about slab walls or building that first fire in your new home's fireplace, the Guide covers it."--Country Journal. 416 pages, 800 b/w illus., 8 1/2 x 11. p

This is the basic book for the log house builder, with those special tips that come only with much experience.

You'll learn:
• How to shape logs, make corner joints, erect walls, fit joists, add decks and porches, and much more
• How manufacturers' kit homes differ, illustrated by many photographs and detail drawings.
• How to pick the best site for a house and plan your foundation, driveway and landscaping.
• What the manufacturer of a kit log house can do for you--and how to be sure you get what you want.
• The secrets of how to save the most on building your log home--what you can do best yourself and when to get professional help.
• Tools you'll need and ways to simply hard jobs like raising logs and planning for chimneys.

This one-of-a-kind book will save you money, labor, time, and materials in building a small home, barn, or other structure.

Involves limited grading, no excavation for a foundation, use of sites unsuited for other types of buildings, good wind resistance, and fewer materials.

You can build it yourself with this book, illustrated with plans, drawings, and photographs. Construction techniques are carefully explained.

This book will make pole building construction the answer to your building needs.

Plans for:
• Year-round houses
• Vacation homes
• Garage and tool shed
• Woodshed
• Solar cottage
• Small pole barn
• Storage shed

In the dark about how to take care of electrical problems--and worried about handling breakdowns safely? Teach yourself! You know you could replace a faulty receptacle, add a dimmer switch, or install a recessed light...if only an expert would show you how. That's exactly what this all-in-color book, packed with charts, diagrams, and photos, does: it gives you a thorough, yet amazingly easy-to-understand, overview of basic home electricity. No other manual makes everything from blown fuses to circuitry simple and clear, so that you have the power to take command of the everyday glitches that arise. Get the basics of working with wire, cable, and conduit. Do emergency repairs on breakers, blown fuses, frayed cords, and plugs. Test switches and receptacles; install boxes for light fixtures; and add outlets. Replace ballasts; mount track lighting; and extend circuits. Run cable through a wall, and to the ceiling. Every part is identified and every function described in a wonderfully straightforward way. All the fundamentals are covered--even how to select inexpensive specialty tools. It's the one book you need to learn all the basics! 128 pages (all in color), 8 x 10. ppp

This is the 1996 edition. It has been expanded and includes up-to-date information on over 500 North American intentional communities, more than 50 communities on other continents, and includes 31 articles about community living. If you are thinking about starting or joining an intentional community, you need this directory.