The Homeowner's Energy Handbook: Your Guide to Getting Off the Grid
As energy prices rise and the pressure grows to wean ourselves from climate-damaging fossil fuels, interest in energy efficiency and off-the-grid living is growing. Drawing on his extensive expertise as a home-energy consultant, Scheckel has crafted a masterfully clear and accessible guide to incorporating power-saving strategies in the home for anyone with the time and ambition to follow them. The first half of the book focuses on improving home-energy efficiency, including recipes for conducting your own energy audit, retrofitting windows and basements to prevent leakage, and wiring the home for monitoring gas and electric usage. The second, more-challenging half covers the installation of alternative energy devices such as solar hot-water heaters, windmills, and hydroelectric turbines. The most eye-opening chapter here is one on biogas, a novel fuel source derived from decaying food and animal waste. With plenty of lucidly written instructions, well-drawn illustrations, and user-friendly sidebars, Scheckel’s manual is an indispensable reference for library how-to sections and homeowners hoping to cut the cord from their corporate power suppliers. --Carl Hays