The Easy Guide to Solar Electric, second edition

Rating:
Summary: good book for interface solar cells with auxilary equip
Review: good book for understanding specifying wiring, inverters, batteries, etc., but limited in regards to information about solar cells themselves--only about 2 pages out of 200 plus one page listing addresses and phone #'s of solar distributors.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Introducion
Review: I am a builder and owner of the Natural House. I reviewed Mr. Piepers book and found it an excellent introduction for entry level solar customers. My electrician says: "finally a book not clutterd with useless and too detailed information". Personally I like the humor in this book and give the book as a present to every home owner I build a house for. Thank you Mr. Pieper for the excellent work!

Rating:
Summary: Great Entry Level Book
Review: I am not technically inclined and was long waiting to hear about some book that explains solar energy in simple language. I finally found it. And even though it is technically not a How To book it is in a sence that once you understand the concept of solar electric you can use common sense to figure out the practical side of things. Besides this book is more important in a sense that it promotes Solar Energy. With only 50 years of oil reserve left and the rising prices on oil and gas it opens up this alternative energy to many people. The author explains well why it is so important for us and future generations to go solar. I highly recommand this book to everybody. It is an eye opener. Thank you Adi Pieper

Rating:
Summary: Nonfiction from the Heart
Review: I red this book in Germany where I live, and, even though some aspects of this book are based on conditions in the USA, I highly recommend this book to everybody on this planet. One can tell the author's love of the subject and his skill to write just from the heart on a very technical subject. The stories and jokes in the book helped me to understand the subject and, even if I could not follow some technical detail, the point he tried to make still came across. I now know more about the subject of solar energy and - what is equally important - I look at the world and its resources with a different eye. This is truely and "Easy Guide". Keep cracking Adi,
thanks for this wonderful book.
Sonja Baumann, Berlin Germany

Rating:
Summary: Non-technical, entry-level solar electric book for beginners
Review: I'm a technically-oriented, DIY person and I was looking for a solar electric book to help me with my small-scale, residential installation. I already have most of the background on photovoltaic systems and needed more of a "Here's-how-you-do-it" book. Although amusing and easily read, I found this book useful for someone who is starting to think about solar power and needs a light hand to make them feel more at ease about what a system will and will not do. This is not a book for someone needing a DIY guide or a "How-to" manual. It's not a bad book - just not useful for my needs.

Rating:
Summary: Non-technical, entry-level solar electric book for beginners
Review: I'm a technically-oriented, DIY person and I was looking for a solar electric book to help me with my small-scale, residential installation. I already have most of the background on photovoltaic systems and needed more of a "Here's-how-you-do-it" book. Although amusing and easily read, I found this book useful for someone who is starting to think about solar power and needs a light hand to make them feel more at ease about what a system will and will not do. This is not a book for someone needing a DIY guide or a "How-to" manual. It's not a bad book - just not useful for my needs.

Rating:
Summary: Not Great
Review: The author tries to use a silly sense of humor to inform readers about electricity and solar power, but I found his sense of humor overbearing and much in the way of getting across important info. The book could easily have been more informative in half the number of pages.

Rating:
Summary: Useless
Review: Unless you happened to fail your 8th grade science class (and perhaps even if you did) you will likely not get much out of this book. It is dumbed-down to such a degree that even after reading it would be hard for persons to make themselves understood while discussing solar power. The sad part is that many of the "simplifications" are not just bad analogies, but downright incorrect. If you're truly interested in learning about solar, try to find another book, as I will now have to.