Book Review: Solar Living Sourcebook 30th Anniversary Edition
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Update: The Solar Living Sourcebook is now available free online. Click here for more information!
Real Good’s Solar Living Sourcebook is considered by many to be “the bible” of solar living (Buy used from Amazon for about $20) and for good reason. This book is chock-full of information about a wide variety of topics, from passive and active solar, hydro power, wind power, emerging renewable energy technology, greywater systems, composting, water pumping, natural building techniques and so much more…
What We Like Most
The best thing about “The Sourcebook” is the astounding volume of information and topics covered. One would think that covering so much ground would lead to a glossing-over of information. While that is true in some cases (such as the chapter on water purification), most of the book is extremely detailed. You will find diagrams on how to wire up different types of battery banks, charts for determining the best angle to place your solar panels, renewable energy system sizing worksheets, power consumption tables, magnetic declination maps, descriptions on parts and gadgets, book reviews, amperage conversions… If you were going to live off grid and had one book to buy, this would be it.
What We Liked Least
It’s not really that we “didn’t like” chapters on things like natural burials and permaculture, but they just weren’t topics we expected to see in a book titled Solar Living Sourcebook: Your Complete Guide to Renewable Energy Technologies and Sustainable Living. Sure, “sustainable living” can encompass many things, but why not just call it the Sustainable Living Sourcebook? The answer to this is in the “30th Anniversary Edition” part of this review title. The fact that topics like permaculture and straw bale housing are included in “The Sourcebook” goes to show how far it has evolved from its original conception THREE DECADES ago!
On a scale of 1-5 we’d give this book a 4.5. Some of the information is a bit too technical for some people, while other parts of the book are a bit too entry-level for others. The Solar Living Sourcebook seeks to strike a balance and provide a general overview of sustainable living concepts while not glossing over every topic. We think they have managed to do this quite well.
Sep 3rd, 2008 at 4:18 pm
[...] of the book was rehashing information that I had already read about in more general books like the Solar Living Sourcebook and many other books on off-grid and sustainable living. I ordered this book because I was ready to [...]
Jan 27th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
[...] does not include all of the pictures, diagrams and product suggestions that I find so usefull in my print copy. You should go check ot the free online version and, if you like it, consider buying the print [...]