True to this innovative, straightforward approach, the new edition of this best-selling guide includes CSOL passive solar design software, making it easier than ever to heat your home with the power of the sun. Since The Passive Solar House was first published, passive solar construction expert James Kachadorian has perfected user-friendly, PC-compatible software to help readers analyze the efficiency of their passive solar house designs and the solar potential of their current homes or building sites.

This is the building book for a world of climbing energy costs. Applicable to diverse regions, climates, budgets, and styles of architecture, Kachadorian's techniques translate the essentials of timeless solar design into practical wisdom for today's solar builders. Profiles of successful passive solar design, construction, and retrofit projects from readers of the first edition provide inspiration to first-time homebuilders and renovators alike.

From the Preface
All houses are solar. The sun shines on almost every home, many days throughout the year. The question is, to what extent are you utilizing the sunlight? This book has been written to help you to take advantage of this free resource.

The first part of the book will acquaint you with the basic concepts involved in solar design. Notice that we have included ten easy-to-follow "Solar Principles," each one illustrating a key consideration in building solar homes. As you progress through the chapters, the discussion will get more specific and more technical, incorporating many formulas and equations needed to actually factor the solar principles into effective solar home designs. Do not be discouraged if you do not instantly grasp the mathematics. What is important is that you understand the concepts so that, with the help of a professional designer, you will be able to include solar features in the plan for your home.

The knowledge imparted in this book has been accumulated from over 30 years of data gathered from several hundred solar homes located in the northern tier of the United States, from North Carolina to and including Canada and west to the mountain states. These are locations that are primarily focused on heating. Authors of other solar books have raised concerns about the possible buildup of mold or other airborne problems in ventilated slabs. If the design described in this book is to be used in low-lying and high-moisture locations, the concerns raised may very well be valid. See Chapter 7 for a more detailed discussion of this topic.

Great care has been taken to provide accurate and factual information based on over 25 years of solar home design experience. I wish that I could make competent solar designers and builders out of every reader, yet the disciplines needed to design and construct homes take years of education and apprenticeship to learn. If you do not possess these skills, please consult with or hire professionals. While this book's technical data and equations will be widely applicable for the technically trained, hopefully the book will also spark an enthusiasm among non-technical readers for the limitless potential of solar energy.

Wouldn't it be nice if your house, too, could spend next winter heating itself, naturally, with free heat from the sun?

Contents
Chapter 1: Let Nature Heat Your Home. Chapter 2: The Passive Solar Concept. Chapter 3: The Solar Slab and Basic Solar Design. Chapter 4: Insulation, Venting and Fresh Air. Chapter 5: Basic Layouts and Floor Plans. Chapter 6: How to do the Solar Design Calculations. Chapter 7: The Foundation Plan, and Backup Heating and Cooling. Chapter 8: A Sidehill Variation, and Solar Design Worksheets. Chapter 9: Sunspaces and Special Design Considerations. Chapter 10: Interior Design for Year-Round Comfort. Chapter 11: Three Projects. Chapter 12: Using the SCOL Computer Program. Appendix 1: Solar Design Worksheets. Appendix 2: Solar Intensity and Solar Heat Gain Factors for 16 to 64 Degrees North Latitude. Appendix 3: Thermal Properties of Typical Building and Insulating Materials (Design Values). Appendix 4: North Latitude, Elevation, and Outside Winter Design Temperatures for Selected Cities in the US and Canada. Appendix 5: Average Monthly and Yearly Degree Days for Cities in the US and Canada. Appendix 6: Mean Percentage of Possible Sunshine for Selected Cities in the US and Canada. Appendix 7: Isogonic Chart (Magnetic Declination). Index.

About the Author
James Kachadorian is a civil engineer with degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He is the founder of Green Mountain Homes, which has gained national recognition as the first provider of innovative, manufactured solar homes. He has built more than three hundred passive solar homes, including his own home in Woodstock, Vermont.