Books about Ventilation from Amazon.com

Passive solar heating and passive cooling--approaches known as natural conditioning--provide comfort throughout the year by reducing, or eliminating, the need for fossil fuel. Yet while heat from sunlight and ventilation from breezes is free for the taking, few modern architects or builders really understand the principles involved. Now Dan Chiras, author of the popular book The Natural House, brings those principles up to date for a new generation of solar enthusiasts. The techniques required to heat and cool a building passively have been used for thousands of years. Early societies such as the Native American Anasazis and the ancient Greeks perfected designs that effectively exploited these natural processes. The Greeks considered anyone who didn't use passive solar to heat a home to be a barbarian! In the United States, passive solar architecture experienced a major resurgence of interest in the 1970s in response to crippling oil embargoes. With grand enthusiasm but with scant knowledge (and sometimes little common sense), architects and builders created a wide variety of solar homes. Some worked pretty well, but looked more like laboratories than houses. Others performed poorly, overheating in the summer because of excessive or misplaced windows and skylights, and growing chilly in the colder months because of insufficient thermal mass and insulation and poor siting. In The Solar House, Dan Chiras sets the record straight on the vast potential for passive heating and cooling. Acknowledging the good intentions of misguided solar designers in the past, he highlights certain egregious--and entirely avoidable--errors. More importantly, Chiras explains in methodical detail how today's home builders can succeed with solar designs. Now that energy efficiency measures including higher levels of insulation and multi-layered glazing have become standard, it is easier than ever before to create a comfortable and affordable passive solar house that will provide year-round comfort in any climate. Moreover, since modern building materials and airtight construction methods sometimes result in air-quality and even toxicity problems, Chiras explains state-of-the-art ventilation and filtering techniques that complement the ancient solar strategies of thermal mass and daylighting. Chiras also explains the new diagnostic aids available in printed worksheet or software formats, allowing readers to generate their own design schemes..
Price: $17.78 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Concerns over dwindling resources and environmental degradation are driving many to seek alternatives to our wasteful, polluting lifestyle. Clean technologies such as solar power, wind power, and biodiesel fuel are soaring in popularity.

Real Goods Solar Living Source Book-Special 30th Anniversary Edition is the ultimate guide to renewable energy, sustainable living, green building, homesteading, off-the-grid living, and alternative transportation, written by experts with decades of experience and a passion for sharing their knowledge. This fully updated edition includes brand-new sections on Peak Oil, climate change, relocalization, natural burial, biodynamics, and permaculture. It also boasts the latest product listings and completely rewritten and expanded chapters on:

• Land and shelter
• Natural building
• Passive solar
• Biofuels
• Sustainable transportation
• Grid-tied photovoltaics
• Solar hot water systems
• Plus, over 150 pages of maps, wiring diagrams, formulae, charts, solar sizing worksheets, and much more

Whether you're a layperson or a professional, novice or longtime aficionado, the new sourcebook puts the latest research and products at your fingertips-all the information you need to make sustainable living a reality.

John Schaeffer is the president and founder of Real Goods, the oldest and largest catalog company devoted to the sale and service of renewable-energy products. Now merged with Gaiam, Real Goods has converted over sixty thousand homes to solar energy since 1978, when it sold the very first photovoltaic module in America. Real Goods hosts the annual SolFest at its Solar Living Center headquarters in Hopland, California.

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Price: $20.11 [Notify me when price goes down.]

From the arid deserts of Tucson, Arizona to the icy forests of Poori, Finland to the tropical beaches of New South Wales, Australia to the urban jungle of downtown Manhattan, critics Alanna Stang and Christopher Hawthorne have traveled to the farthest reaches of the globe to find all that is new in the design of sustainable, or "green," homes. The result: more than thirty-five residences in fifteen countries -- and nearly every conceivable natural environment -- designed by a combination of star architects and heretofore unknown practitioners.
Six different climactic zones are presented in The Green House -- waterfront, forest and mountain, tropical, desert, suburban, and urban; there is also a section on mobile dwellings. Each chapter features a series of homes that show the diversity and possibility of sustainable design. Projects are presented with large color images, plans, drawings, and an accompanying text that describes their green features and explains how they work with and in the environment.
Architects included: Santiago Calatrava, Shigeru Ban, Miller/Hull, Rick Joy, Lake Flato, Kengo Kuma, Glenn Murcutt, Pugh & Scarpa, Werner Sobek, and many others.
The Green House is not only a beautiful object in its own right, but is sure to be an indispensable reference for anyone building or interested in sustainable design -- and if you ask us, that should be everyone..
Price: $23.01 [Notify me when price goes down.]

For professionals in the air-conditioning and refrigeration installation and repair trade, this book is an essential toolbox guide. Covers compressors, controls, components, motors, pipe, tube, valves and fittings, whole systems, and ozone-friendly refrigerants. Describes physics of vapor-compression and absorption cycles, and operation and installation of complete systems.

Complete coverage of tubing: choosing, bending, and installing. Full description of all popular metering devices and electrical and electronic controls, heavily illustrated.

20 pages of troubleshooting for vapor-compression and ammonia systems, metering devices, oil-control systems, for air- and water-cooled condensers, motors and pumps. Standard ACR procedures include draining and adding oil, system startup and cleanup, detecting leaks, recovering refrigerant, drying, evacuating and charging a system, and periodic maintenance..
Price: $8.77 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technology, 6th Edition, a time-honored best seller, has been updated and revised to provide superior hands-on information needed to successfully maintain and troubleshoot today's complex heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration systems. The new sixth edition contains units updated to include advances or changes in technology, procedures, and or equipment. Over 250 new images have been added to emphasize the practical application approach to the book. It fosters a solid foundation and understanding of environmental problems and their solutions, and displays a depth and detail of theory, diagnostics, and repair procedures that make this a fitting book for basic HVAC-R education as well as upgrading and certification training for technicians in the field..
Price: $89.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

For the past ten years The Passive Solar House has offered proven techniques for building homes that heat and cool themselves, using readily available materials and methods familiar to all building contractors and many do-it-yourself homeowners. True to this innovative, straightforward approach, the new edition of this best-selling guide includes CSOL passive solar design software, making it easier than ever to heat your home with the power of the sun. Since The Passive Solar House was first published, passive solar construction expert James Kachadorian has perfected user-friendly, PC-compatible software to supplement the design process explained in the book by allowing homeowners/designers to enter the specifications of their design and see how changing a variable will affect its energy efficiency. This is the building book for a world of climbing energy costs. Applicable to diverse regions, climates, budgets, and styles of architecture, Kachadorian’s techniques translate the essentials of timeless solar design into practical wisdom for today’s solar builders. Profiles of successful passive solar design, construction, and retrofit projects from readers of the first edition provide inspiration to first-time homebuilders and renovators alike..
Price: $22.29 [Notify me when price goes down.]

What more appealing scene can you conjure up on a wintry day than a pair of comfortable armchairs pulled up to a crackling fire while wisps of smoke curl from the chimney top? All your senses are in use--the sight of the flickering flames, the sound of the crackling logs, the warmth on your face, and the fragrance and taste of wood smoke. The hearth truly is the essential core of every home, whether it is an actual fireplace or merely a mantel displaying the treasures and trophies of intertwined lives. Long past the days of strictly utilitarian purpose, fireplaces and stoves are a design feature in their own right. They are available in an array of styles, sizes, and colors; offer a variety of fuel choices; and feature benefits beyond mere aesthetics, including heat and cooking. Fireplaces and heat sources are also widely found in many rooms throughout the house, including the family or living room, bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom, as well as outdoors. And the latest innovations in fireplace and stove technologies make having one no longer an expensive proposition.

While the building market is seeing growth in the fireplace market, so too is the remodeling marketplace. In fact, many homeowners are refacing their existing fireplace, upgrading their wood fireplace to gas, or simply installing a new faux fireplace where there wasn't one before. In this book readers will find hundreds of examples of all types of indoor fireplaces--from wood to gas, freestanding, and ventless--and stoves, both wood and pellet. In addition to gorgeous photos of a full range of fireplace styles, materials, and décor for indoor and outdoor fireplaces and stoves, solid information on practical design considerations--maintaining a fireplace or stove, remodeling an existing fireplace, safety, converting a wood-burning fireplace to gas, and the like--are explained in detail, making this the only book on the market to offer the breadth of content on both the design and practical components of all types of the latest indoor and outdoor fireplaces and stoves. Aesthetic and practical design considerations for hearths and mantels, built-ins and storage, lighting, and accessories like screen, brooms, and bellows are also covered. A thorough glossary, resources, and index provide reference-like information..
Price: $13.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The "best" in heating, cooling, and refrigeration just got better! This time-honored best seller has been updated and revised to provide superior hands-on information needed to successfully maintain and troubleshoot today's complex heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration systems. It fosters a solid foundation and understanding of environmental problems and their solutions, and displays a depth and detail of theory, diagnostics, and repair procedures that make this a fitting book for basic HVAC-R education as well as upgrading and certification training for technicians in the field. The fifth Edition includes information on typical operating conditions, and offers ample systematic troubleshooting techniques and scenarios with an eye to improving reader's skills. This book has been developed around the National Skill Standards for HVAC-R technicians as funded by the U.S. Department of Education, and contains easy-to-understand language for grasping fundamental and advanced concepts in the HVAC-R field..
Price: $70.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In today's ever changing technical world, service technicians must be highly skilled and have a solid understanding of refrigeration and air conditioning concepts. In addition, technicians must stay abreast of current industry development and improved techniques. Troubleshooting and Servicing Modern Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Systems gives service technicians all the information needed to accurately diagnose and solve various systems problems. The book details a variety of topics and troubleshooting procedures, including the following: Refrigerant pressures, states, and conditions, Subcooling and superheat, Compression systems, Metering devices, System charge, Diagnosing air conditioning systems, Systematic troubleshooting, Alternative refrigerants, Refrigerant blends an oils, Leak detection - evacuation and clean up procedures, Ozone depletion and global warming.

Troubleshooting and Servicing Modern Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Systems discusses the changes affecting the refrigeration and air conditioning industries with an emphasis on the phaseout of CFC and HCFC refrigerants. Detailed sections on the most current leak detection and evacuation methods are included, as well as a section on alternative refrigerants and retrofit guidelines. The book also includes refrigerant changeover guidelines for the following conversions: R-12 to R-134a; R-12 to R-401A; R-12 to R-401B; R-502 to R-402A/R-408A; and R-502 to R-404A/R-507.

Troubleshooting and Servicing Modern Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Systems is a 251 page soft cover that is written in easy to understand language and utilizes a large number of illustrations, tables, and photos. This book will provide service technicians with the practical, hands on information needed to successfully troubleshoot and service today's increasingly complex air conditioning and refrigeration systems..
Price: $39.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]