homeowner’s energy handbook
Subtitle: your guige to getting off the grid
Publisher: Storey Pub.
Published: 2013
Place of publication: North Adams, MA
Format: paperback
Number of pages: 287
ISBN-13: 9781612120164
Table of contents: title: Getting ready for renewables. The big and little energy picture -- Basic considerations -- Systems and planning -- Renewable habits -- The value of electricity -- Energy action in Cuba -- Build a bicycle-powered battery charger -- Do your own energy audit. Getting started -- Electricity -- Hot water -- Heating and air conditioning -- Thermal envelope -- Windows -- Prioritizing your improvements -- Insulating your home -- How heat moves -- Measuring insulation value -- Insulation inspection -- How much insulation do you need? -- Choosing and installing insulation -- Stopping air and moisture -- Roof venting -- When "high performance" doesn't perform -- Deep energy retrofits. Looking at the big picture -- A team with a plan -- The basement -- Above-grade walls -- Windows -- The roof -- Air leakage -- Ventilation -- Heating and air conditioning -- Hot water -- Home energy monitoring. Electric energy monitoring -- Gas monitoring -- Environmental monitoring -- My hot water heating story -- Solar hot water. Types of systems -- Solar hot water collectors -- Hot water storage -- Additional system components -- Sizing the system -- Maintenance -- Homemade hot water -- Build a solar hot water batch heater -- Solar electric generation. Solar power potential -- Planning for a PV system -- PV system wiring -- Orientation -- Racks and tracking -- Economics -- Safety -- Living with solar (and wind) power -- Wind electric generation. Using wind energy at home -- Estimating energy in the wind -- Estimating wind speed -- Efficiency and power -- Wind machines and controls -- Towers -- Foundations and anchoring -- Maintenance -- Safety -- Wiring and grounding -- Wind wisdom from an expert -- Hydro electric generation. Home hydro -- Calculating hydro energy -- Measuring flow and estimating power -- Intake site selection -- Penstock pipe selection -- Turbines -- Power generators -- System efficiency -- Renewable electricity management. Grid-tie vs. off-grid -- Definition of terms -- Electrical wiring -- Balance of system components -- Batteries -- Mapping motivations ... and watts -- Biodiesel. Venturing into biodiesel -- What is biodiesel? -- Benefits and drawbacks -- Essential ingredients -- Equipment needs -- Safety -- Basic steps for making biodiesel -- Mixing biodiesel with other fuels -- Washing biodiesel -- Veggie oil conversion -- Create a biodiesel kit -- Wood gas. Wood doesn't burn -- How wood gas generators work -- Four stages of gasification -- Gasifier operation -- Cleaning and filtering wood gas -- Using wood gas -- Storing gas -- Types of gasifiers -- Working safely around wood gas -- Two men and a truck -- Build a simple wood gas cook stove -- Biogas. The basics -- Recipe for making gas -- Solids, liquids, and volatile solids -- Temperature -- Retention time and loading rate -- Types of methane generators -- Using biogas -- Purifying biogas -- Biogas is more than a gas -- Make a biogas generator.