A practical beginners guide to passive solar energy concepts, complete with pictures and diagrams. Learn about solar and wind energy; build a solar oven to cook with the sun; make your home tornado and hurricane resistant; purify water using a solar distiller; design a passive solar house; and cool your home with earthtubes!IN THIS BOOK: HOW TO DISCOVER IF SOLAR OR WIND POWER IS BEST FOR YOU: Solar and Wind Energy - A Primer for Beginners. Compare and contrast solar and wind energy. Covers application, purchasing, regional wind and solar charts, installation, practical use, plus appliance wattage chart and load calculation sheets.HOW TO MAKE A SOLAR OVEN: Step by Step Instructions - Cook your food using the sun! Covers BOX cookers, PANEL cookers, PARABOLIC cookers, "Pizza-box" cookers, "Pringles-can" cookers, the simple Bernard cooker, etc. WITH PICTURES! Also includes details on thermometers, swivel pivots, sun timers (timing dowel) for easier cooking, recipes, tips for cooking, what kind of pots/pans to use and avoid, and more! For the cost of a few dollars you can make your own solar oven to COOK ANYTHING YOU CAN COOK IN A REGULAR OVEN. All with no burning, no scorching, and no gas or electricity needed.HOW TO MAKE A SOLAR WATER DISTILLER: A solar distiller is basically a simple, waterproof, oblong "box" that uses the sun's energy to distill the water (even contaminated water that contains raw sewage) with a piece of glass on top that the sun shines through. The distilled water is then rendered safe for drinking and cooking, with absolutely no contaminants that are found in regular (potable) water. Removes salts, sand, sediments, rust, bacteria, microorganisms, arsenic, fluoride, chlorine, everything!HOW TO MAKE A TORNADO AND HURRICANE RESISTANT HOME: A Guide for Owner-Builders and Contractors. Proven techniques that only cost a few hundred dollars to do! Tornado-proof or hurricane-proof your own home, or the homes you build for others. Surveys done by a college teacher found that three things existed in ALL the homes that survived such severe storms. Learn what they are, and how to do it inside this book! Also learn how to make an "In-the-house" storm shelter!HOW TO DESIGN A PASSIVE SOLAR HOUSE: Heat up to 60% of your home with only the sun's energy! Covers what a passive solar house is, thermal mass, solar orientation, how to find solar south, glass-to-mass ratios, determining overhangs, Q & A facts, glazing, energy efficiency, and all for only $1-$2/sq ft. Also learn about how the sun was utilized in past and present cultures around the world, and how these simple techniques and concepts that our ancestors knew are still important to us today.HOW TO MAKE COOLING AND HEAT TEMPERING EARTHTUBES: Cool your house without Air Conditioning! For the cost of a few hundred dollars you can cool your house naturally and efficiently using no electricity or pumps, fans, or moving parts. Completely passive, these earthtubes also provide pre-tempered air to feed any fireplace, woodstove, or other heater that uses combustible air during winter.
I, Sharon Cornet, wrote articles for many years, served on the board of directors (including officer positions, and was the first female President in 2001) for the El Paso Solar Energy Association (www.espea.org), learned everything I could about passive solar home design, and taught workshops, attended events, promoted solar on Earth Day committees, baked cookies galore in solar ovens at renewable energy fairs, and worked as Project Manager for three bi-national and EPA grants to install solar water distillers in border colonias. In time I moved and bought two acres and designed and built my own passive solar straw bale house in Nebraska in the 1990's. Some of my next endeavors include community development and design for an intentional community with green building sustainable and solar design, for an eco-village type of living style.
