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Energy-Wise Landscape Design: A New Approach for Your Home and Garden
Residential consumption represents nearly one quarter of North America's total energy use and the average homeowner spends thousands of dollars a year on power bills. To help alleviate this problem, "Energy-Wise Landscape Design" presents hundreds of practical ways everyone can save money, time, and effort while making their landscapes more environmentally healthy, ecologically rich, and energy efficient. Combining general guidelines with tips, techniques, and actions, this fully illustrated guide explains the many opportunities our landscapes provide for conserving energy. Readers will learn how to: Lower a home's heating and cooling costs Minimize fuel used in landscape construction, maintenance, and everyday use Choose landscape products and materials with lower embedded energy costs Make a positive difference without a major investment or change in lifestyle Intended for homeowners, gardeners, landscape professionals, and students, the design ideas in this book will work in every type of setting--large or small, hilly or flat, urban or rural. Written in non-scientific language with clear explanations and an easy conversational style, "Energy-Wise Landscape Design" is an essential resource for everyone who wants to shrink their energy footprint while enhancing their property and adding value to their home. Sue Reed is a registered landscape architect and a specialist in ecological landscape design who has helped hundreds of homeowners create comfortable, livable, and beautiful landscapes that save energy. She is also an experienced writer and teacher whose work specifically focuses on environmentally sound, energy-efficient, and sustainable landscape design.
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The Homeowner's Guide to Renewable Energy: Achieving Energy Independence Through Solar, Wind, Biomass, and Hydropower
Energy bills have skyrocketed in the United States, and traditional energy sources can be as damaging to the environment as they are to your pocketbook. "The Homeowner's Guide to Renewable Energy" will show you how to slash your home energy costs while dramatically reducing your carbon footprint. Completely revised and updated, this new edition describes the most practical and affordable methods for making significant improvements in home energy efficiency and tapping into clean, affordable, renewable energy resources. If implemented, these measures will save the average homeowner tens of thousands of dollars over the coming decades. Focusing on the latest technological advances in residential renewable energy, this guide examines each alternative energy option available including: Solar hot water and solar hot air systemsPassive and active solar retrofits for heating and coolingElectricity from solar, wind, and microhydroHydrogen, fuel cells, methane digesters, and biodiesel This well-illustrated and accessible guide is an essential resource for those wanting to enter the renewable energy field. Packed with practical tips and guidelines, it gives readers sufficient knowledge to hire and communicate effectively with contractors and is a must-read for anyone interested in saving money and achieving energy independence. Dan Chiras is the author of twenty-nine books on residential renewable energy and green building and the director of The Evergreen Institute's Center for Renewable Energy and Green Building, where he teaches workshops on energy efficiency, renewable energy, and green building.
Living Green: The Missing Manual
Taking care of the earth is more important than ever, but the problems we're facing can seem overwhelming. "Living Green: The Missing Manual" helps make earth-friendly decisions more manageable by narrowing them down to a few simple choices. This all-in-one resource is packed with practical advice on ways you can help the environment by making simple changes in your home routine, work habits, and the way you shop and get around town. You don't have to embark on a radical new lifestyle to make a difference. "Living Green: The Missing Manual" shows you how small changes can have a big impact. With this book, you will: Learn how to make your home energy efficient and free of toxic chemicals Discover how to reduce waste, repurpose and recycle, and do more with less Build and remodel earth-friendly homes with new techniques and materials Learn tips for buying organic food and what it takes to grow your own Get helpful information on fuel-efficient cars, including hybrid and electric models Make your workplace greener and more cost-effective -- from changes at your desk to suggestions for company-wide policies Explore how to choose renewable energies, such as wind and solar power The book also provides you with ways to connect with like-minded people and offers a survey of exciting new green technologies. Learn how you can help the planet with "Living Green: The Missing Manual."
Energy-Efficient Building
Although energy costs are near an all-time low, modern energy efficiency offers more than just savings: It offers comfort. With the help of this book, homeowners and builders can build lasting comfort into their homes -- and save money. This new addition to the best-selling Best of Fine Homebuilding series brings together 29 of the best articles from Fine Homebuilding magazine that cover topics from choosing ductwork and housewrap to building more efficient fireplaces and storm windows. The articles detail specific projects home-owners or builders can do to improve the energy efficiency of a traditional home. Over 200 photos and 50 color illustrations make concepts and product comparisons easy to understand, even for non-professionals. All of the articles are intended to solve common home energy problem: such as those associated with doors, skylights, water heaters, and heating systems. Energy-Efficient Building is an essential reference for homeowners and builders alike and invaluable to anyone building a new home.