Real Goods Solar Living Sourcebook

John Schaeffer is the president and founder of Real Goods -- the foremost global source for tools and information on renewable energy, energy-efficient and sustainable living. He sold the very first photovoltaic (solar module) to the North American public in 1978 and over the years, through Real Goods, he has provided over 100 MW of solar power and has helped solarize over 15,000 homes. John is also the founder of the Solar Living Institute, based at the 12-acre solar-powered Solar Living Center in Hopland, California. The SLI hosts over 200,000 visitors a year, provides hands-on education into all aspects of renewable energy and sustainable living, and produces the SolFest renewable energy fair.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A MESSAGE FROM THE RGS ENERGY CEO
FOREWORD: by Bill McKibben
INTRODUCTION: by John Schaeffer, Real Goods Founder

Chapter 1: RELOCALIZATION: A Strategic Response to Peak Oil and Climate Change
Ecological Economics
Overshoot
Peak Oil and Implications for a Transportation-Dependent Economy
Climate Change and the Need to Eliminate Fossil Fuels
Relocalization: A Strategic Response to Overshoot
Approaching Social Change
Pioneering Solar Down on the Farm

Chapter 2: LAND AND SHELTER: Designing and Building Your Green Dream Home
The Impacts of Modern Building
Passive Survivability
Strategies for a Responsive Home
Renovations and Development
Building a New Home
Passive Solar Design: A Primer
Building Technologies
The Healthy Home
Your Home, Your Choice
Words of Wisdom from Real Goods Staffers and Colleagues
Spirit of the Sun

Chapter 3: SUNSHINE TO ELECTRICITY: Creating Renewable Energy with Solar, Wind, and Hydroelectric Power
What Are Photovoltaic Cells?
Sixty Years of Photovoltaics
System Examples
PV Racking
Wind and Hydro Power Sources
Hydroelectricity
Wind Energy
Wind Energy and Wind Turbines - What You Need To Consider to Make a Decision
Hydrogen Fuel Cells

Chapter 4: FROM PANEL TO PLUG: How to Get Your Renewable Energy Source Powering Your Appliances
A Renewable Energy System Primer: Putting It All Together
Off-grid and Battery Backup
System Sizing Worksheets
Grid-tied Systems
Converting Sunshine into Electricity
What's the Payback?
Safety and Fusing
Charge Controllers
Monitors
Large Storage Batteries
Real Goods' Battery Troubleshooting Guide
Common Battery Questions and Answers
Real Goods' Battery Care Class
Rechargeable Batteries and Chargers
Frequently Asked Questions About Rechargeable Batteries
Inverters
Potential Problems with Modified Sine Wave Inverter Use - and How to Correct Them
Potential Problems with ALL Inverters - and How to Correct Them
Inverter Conclusions
Wire, Adapters, and Outlets
Wire Sizing Chart/Formula
RGS Energy Solar Project Case Study: Ironhouse Sanitary District
RGS Energy Solar Project Case Study: Little Quittacas Solar Farm

Chapter 5: EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND SOLAR MOBILITY: Be Empowered When the Grid Goes Down
Want Some Protection, or at Least a Little Backup? How About Total Freedom?
Steps to a Practical Emergency Power System
What Do You Really Need in an Emergency?
Conclusion

Chapter 6: ENERGY CONSERVATION: Superefficient Lighting, Heating,and Cooling Are the First Steps
Living Well but Inexpensively
It All Starts with Good Design
Retrofitting: Making the Best of What You've Got
Conserving Electricity
House Heating and Cooling
Home Cooling Systems
Energy-efficient Appliances
Superefficient Lighting
Lighting Characteristics
Light Technology

Chapter 7: WATER DEVELOPMENT: Reckoning with Our Most Precious and Endangered Resource
The Three Components of Every Water System
Solar-Powered Pumping
Real Goods' Homestead Plumbing Recommendations
Friction Loss Charts for Water Pumping

Chapter 8: WATER HEATING: The Most Cost-effective Solar Alternative
Common Water Heater Types
Solar Water Heaters
Types of Solar Water Heating Systems: Operation and Installation

Chapter 9: WATER AND AIR PURIFICATION: Clean Water and Air Are Human Rights!
The Need for Water Purification
Methods of Water Filtration and Purification
Air Purification
Resources

Chapter 10: COMPOSTING TOILETS AND GREYWATER SYSTEMS: Novel, Safe, and Clean Solutions to an Age-old Human Issue
Reclaiming Valuable Resources
What Is a Composting Toilet?
Greywater Systems

Chapter 11: REGENERATIVE HOMESTEADING AND FARMING: Growing Your Own Organically Using the Permaculture Principles While Living the Good Life
Permaculture: A Holistic Design System for Your Site
Biodynamic® Agriculture: Food and the Cosmos
Biodynamic Preparations
Resources

Chapter 12: URBAN HOMESTEADING: Heirloom Skills for Sustainable Living
Urban Permaculture Practice
Gardening in the Urban Habitat
Animals on the Urban Homestead
Remaking Our Relationship to Food
The Heirloom Kitchen Skills
Natural Building
Powering Down
Greywater and Rainwater Use
Waste
Personal Ecology
Resources

Chapter 13: SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION: Toward a Future of Carbon-free Mobility
The Problem with Fossil Fuels
The Problem with Today's Motor Vehicles
Hybrids and Other Low-emission Vehicles
Biodiesel, Ethanol, and Other Biofuels
Electric Vehicles
Futuristic Vehicles?

Chapter 14: NATURAL BURIAL: The Ultimate Back-to-the-land Movement
Dying to Do the Right Thing
When It's Time, Will You "Leave No Trace"?
Cemetery Stewardship's Triple Bottom Line
Crafting the Fond Farewell: It Takes a Plan
What You Need for a Natural Burial
A Place to Go
Last Acts That Make a Difference: How Your Support of Environmentally Friendly Products Can Turn an Industry Around

Chapter 15: THE REAL GOODS' SUSTAINABLE LIVING LIBRARY: Reading for a Renewable Future
Garden, Farm, Food, and Community
Land and Shelter
Renewable Energy in Theory and Practice
Building Types and Materials
Peak Oil, Relocalization, and Politics
Water Development
References and Resources

APPENDIX
Part I: Who We Are and How We Got Here
Part II: Living the Dream: The Real Goods Solar Living Center
Part III: Spreading the Word: The Solar Living Institute
Part IV: Getting Down to Business
System Sizing Worksheets
Power Consumption Table
Solar Insolation Maps
Solar Insolation by US City
Magnetic Declination Charts in the United States
Battery Wiring Diagrams
Wire Sizing Chart/Formula
Friction Loss Charts for Water Pumping
Temperature Conversions
Nominal Pipe Size Versus Actual Outside Diameter for Steel and Plastic Pipe
The Real Goods' Resource List
State Energy Offices Access Information
Glossary

ENDNOTES
INDEX