Renewable Energy Systems

This book will be the long awaited guide to the possible for anyone interested in renewables at home or work. It will sweep away scores of common misconceptions while clearly illustrating the best in renewable and energy efficiency technologies.A fully illustrated guide to renewable energy for the home and small business, the book will provide an expert overview of precisely which sustainable energy technologies are appropriate for wide-spread domestic and small business application. The sections on different renewable energy options provide detailed descriptions of each technology along with case studies, installation diagrams and colour photographs, showing precisely what is possible for the average household. The chapter on how to select the renewable technology most appropriate for ordinary homes and businesses summarises this analysis in a neat and easy to use table and demonstrates with examples exactly how to assess your local renewable resources.Renewable technologies covered include wood energy, wind power, solar photovoltaics, solar thermal, passive solar, geothermal and air-to-air heat pumps as well as water or hydro based energy systems - plus the all-important subject of energy efficiency. Whilst written to be accessible to a wide audience, the book is targeted at readers who are keen to work with renewable technologies, students, building engineers, architects, planners, householders and home-owners.

Dilwyn Jenkins was Executive Director at the Powys Energy Agency between 2000 and 2004 and currently works from Wales as a consultant and writer on environmental issues, mainly related to energy, rainforest conservation, community development and cultural travel. Much of his work has focused on projects in Peru and Brazil as well as in Wales, Italy, Scandinavia and Austria. He is the author of Wood Pellet Heating Systems (Earthscan, 2010).