Review of The Homeowner's Handbook to Energy Efficiency: A Guide to Big and Small Improvements (Paperback)

With the way the economy is these days, saving money takes new importance. One of the ways to do that is by making smart choices about energy efficient appliances and making your home more energy efficient. This book, designed for homeowners aims to just that and argues that any home can be improved from an energy standpoint.

After a two page introduction that touts the benefits of making your home more energy efficient, the book opens with the idea that you need to develop an energy use plan for your home. Chapter One discusses the differences between energy consumption and carbon emissions, the energy costs in the building materials, and how both big and small changes/fixes are important.Everything adds up and adding it all up is the key to determining how much energy you are using whether it is electrical, gas, propane or oil. Basic math is illustrated along with a couple of case studies before ten obvious choices are briefly discussed such as installing programmable thermostats, changing appliances, adding insulation, upgrading windows and doors ,etc.

Chapter Two is all about "Lighting and Appliances" and delves into the topic by explaining what the "Energy Star" program really means, different types of lighting, what you can do with appliances up to and including replacing them. Along with the text, there are plenty of small sidebar tips and illustrations.

"Water Heating" is the theme of Chapter Three which explains different basic terms as well as how to adjust your habits as well as your water heater. Along with what to look for if you want to replace your water heater, how to insulate the tank and/or water lines is covered along with replacing shower heads and how to go about creating a solar water heating system.

"Heating and Cooling First Steps" is the title of Chapter Four. The basics of airflow, humidity, temperature, comfort zones, etc is covered along with the uses of programmable thermostats, ceiling fans, natural ventilation and whole house fans. Also mentioned are solar screens, reflective films, Venetian blinds and how to improve your roof reflectivity among other topics. Illustrations in black and white are included in this chapter as well as throughout the book along with various relevant tables.

Chapter Five, "Landscaping" moves the focus to what you can do with plants and trees.Beyond knowing what your general climate is you need to know your own home's personal microclimate. Which side gets afternoon sun, which side gets that bone breaking north wind in winter, etc. Once you know that, they suggest various ways to create shade, wind breaks, etc. Along with explaining the basic tree forms (columnar, pyramidal, spreading, among others) as well as how to plant and mulch the book guides readers as to the types of plants and trees might fit best in your particular microclimate. The book does not make specific tree recommendations at all and instead gives you the tools to consider what type of tree you need or want before heading down to your local nursery or landscape center to talk specifics.

"Finding and Sealing Air Leaks" is the theme of Chapter Six.Finding the leaks and determining how had they are begins the chapter before an explanation of various materials available to seal the leaks. Black and white pictures and illustrations help with the basic as does the text which also looks at various issues in walls, attics, and ductwork.

Chapter Seven delves into "Insulation" using the same format of defining the topic, determining what is needed. Along with tables and helpful information, the black and white illustrations showing the right and wrong way to install insulation and black and white photographs showing different types of insulation in various types of attics.

"Windows and Doors" and what to do about them is the topic of Chapter Eight.They may be the biggest heat and cooling loss from your home as the authors note. After explaining types of windows and window ratings, types of window treatments and if necessary, window replacement they follow the same format in their discussion of doors.

"Cooling Systems" is the theme of Chapter Nine. After cheerfully noting that "air-conditioning Systems are expensive and environmentally destructive to operate" they suggest various ways to improve the efficiency of your current ac system such as having the system professionally serviced, cleaning the coils, making sure your filters are changed and the system is charged correctly and appropriate for the home. Room ac units also discussed along with the installation and use of an evaporative cooler.

Chapter Ten moves the focus to "Heating Systems" and looks at the same basic issues in the same format. Improving your duct work along with having your system professionally serviced as well as possible replacement systems are key components of this chapter.

"Photovoltaic Systems" such as solar cells, a solar array, etc is the theme of Chapter Eleven. Not every home site is suitable for a solar panel, array or system and this chapter walks you through how to determine if it is a good idea and then how to go about having something installed.

Chapter Twelve has the title of "Moisture Management and Ventilation." Basically, you don't want mold or mildew in your home and this chapter tells you all the horrible ways moisture (mold/mildew, etc) can wreck your home and how to avoid it, find it if you have it, and deal with it.

Finally, if you are "Building a New Home" then Chapter Thirteen is for you. It discusses various construction and design methods you can use to make sure your new home is the best it can be from an energy use and emission stand point.

A list of various resources, a list of suggested internet keyword topic searches relating to each chapter and a four page index bring this helpful and informative book to a close.

While color pictures and illustrations would have been nice, this 180 page book published last year more than adequately address the topic. Filled with highly technical information simplified but never dumbed down for the reader, plenty of photographs and illustrations, this book provides a guidepost to helping the environment and saving the homeowner money in the long run. Everything in the book is doable by most people and the ideas presented are practical and worthwhile. This might not be the only book you would ever need on the subject, but it is a very good book.


Kevin R. Tipple (copyright) 2009


Product Description
In The Homeowner's Guide to Energy Efficiency, John Krigger and Chris Dorsi help homeowners set realistic personal goals for reducing their energy consumption. Their methods for making homes more energy efficient will also improve comfort, safety, durability, and resale value. They guide readers through the process of assessing current energy usage and predicting the benefits and estimating the costs of remodeling options. With projects ranging from simple fixes to large-scale renovations, this book offers solutions for the energy-conscious homeowner, regardless of budget, technical ability, or time.

About the Author
John Krigger is a highly respected authority in the field of energy conservation for buildings and the author of several books. He has been a passionate advocate of efficient construction technology for over thirty years. He is now working with other building scientists to develop the next generation of construction techniques for North America.

Chris Dorsi has spent the last thirty years fine-tuning homes across North America. He has founded construction companies, developed real estate projects, and audited thousands of residential buildings. He is a widely acclaimed author and speaker who has motivated and enabled both homeowners and trade professionals to improve the efficiency and minimize the environmental footprint of their buildings.

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Review of Green Your Home: The Complete Guide to Making Your New or Existing Home Environmentally Healthy (Paperback)

Jeanne Roberts does a wonderful job in this book explaining how to make your home environmentally friendly, and Roberts explains why everyone should look into doing this. The book opens by telling that our fuel supplies are diminishing, particularly the fossil fuels like coal and oil. Roberts goes on to explain that our large-scale use of these supplies has caused, according to scientists, a 1.08 degree Fahrenheit increase in the earth's temperature, and tells many scientists predict that the earth's temperature may increase by 10 degrees F. by the time we hit 2100.

Because of these frightening predictions, Roberts explains in the book what efforts we as humans can make to reverse this escalating temperature. Roberts opens by describing the important basics which can reduce your energy bill like switching from incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescents. In another very informative section, Roberts also describes how to fill your home with green friendly appliances.

Additionally detailed are the more expensive efforts which homeowners can take such as installing a green friendly roof. Such a roof is very beneficial because it can significantly reduce your heating and cooling costs all the while it will filter out pollutants and carbon dioxide from the air that is in your house. Roberts, also, does a great job detailing which type of roof to buy and how to go about buying and installing it. Additionally, the appropriate, energy-efficient type of refrigerator is discussed as well as dishwashers, trash compactors, and clothes washers and dryers.Every part of your home which you can make green friendly is described in this book. Also, the book is written in very clean, easily understood language that is rife with cost comparisons that show just how financially beneficial of going green can be. Therefore, all who are thinking about how they can make their home more green friendly or are contemplating building a new home, certainly need to read this book.


Product Description
This book has thousands of ways to make your home environmentally healthy and will help you make ecologically aware supply choices. From recycling to alternative cleaning materials, minor changes can add up to real benefits. Greening your home means finding things you can do to reduce your impact on the planet. We dissected your house, looking for easy (but not always obvious) ways that homeowners can conserve energy and water and money at the same time.

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Review of Depletion and Abundance: Life on the New Home Front (Paperback)

The secondary title of this book--One Woman's Solutions to Finding Abundance for Your Family while Coming to Terms with Peak Oil, Climate Change and Hard Times--pretty much tells the story.

This is not just another of those doom-and-gloom, batten-down-the-hatches-and-man-the-lifeboat handbooks we have seen so many of in the past few years. I've read most of those other books, and while they are helpful in understanding why we are where we are (in terms of energy depletion, climate change, and overwhelming personal and national debt), they don't go very far toward helping us deal with the problems we are facing.

Depletion and Abundance is different. For one thing, it is written by a woman--a smart, well-informed, and energetic woman. She is also a mother of four small children who manages to grow a garden, put food in the freezer, home school the kids, and write about it. These are not small matters, for all of the other books that have been written about energy, environmental, and economic woes have been written by men, bless 'em. These writers understand conceptually what we are facing and tell us with great authority and occasional sympathy just how bad it's likely to be. But Sharon Astyk is different. She speaks with authority and sympathy, but she focuses on how we can manage when tough times come. She writes with cheerfulness, humor, and great personal commitment. I'm betting that, if anybody can show us the way forward, she can.

For another thing, Depletion and Abundance is a book about the "new home front"--and if you ask me, this is where our real battles will be fought: not in Washington or in some foreign country, and not with guns (we hope). We will be trying to make our lives better at home. We will be working with a toolkit that women will need to know how to acquire and use: food from the garden, low-energy appliances, and care and attention to the wise conservation and deployment of the family's resources of time, effort, and money, in and out of the "official economy." Peak oil and gas, the use of coal and nuclear and renewable resources--these are public issues and must of course be addressed by national and local governments. But as Astyk points out repeatedly, it all comes home in the end. Home is where we will find sufficiency or scarcity, and it is women who will man the home front. This is a new message, an important message. We need to listen up.

Depletion and Abundance is full of important and helpful ideas. Astyk suggests ways we can reduce our consumption, get out of debt, and learn how to use what we have--use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without: the real homeland security, as she sees it. She has learned to live on seasonal produce and local foods. She and her family have faced the frightening fact that our futures may not be fully or continuously electrified (as I write this, Hurricane Ike has imposed this knowledge on some four million reluctant learners). Astyk has learned how to cope and she tells us how. Indeed, she is never stingy with her ideas. There's a 14-page appendix full of good suggestions for turning less into more, and more, and more.

And that, at least for me, is what is most important about this book. Yes, we're facing an unpredictable future where there will be less of everything. But the human spirit, as Astyk shows us, is capable of a marvelous alchemy. We can turn tough times into a test, and pass it. We can become self-sufficient, and in the process, learn how to recognize true abundance when we see it. Hers is an optimistic vision, to be sure--overly optimistic, in some ways. But we need optimism now, don't we? And if we need it now, we'll need it even more next week or next year or the years after that, in what may be a future most of us don't want to think about.

Read Depletion and Abundance and see if it doesn't change your ideas about what's ahead. It just might change your life, too.

by Susan Wittig Albert
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

Product Description

Why are so few peak oil authors women? There's been much debate about this, and no one has yet arrived at a definitive answer. But whatever the reason, Sharon Astyk has established herself as a true rarity within the peak oil community by virtue of being a woman who has chosen to write about peak oil. The perspective she offers is thus both uncommon and vital.
In Depletion and Abundance, she shows how rewarding life on her New Home Front could be, immeasureably improving our health, nutrition, sense of community and overall well-being. Chief among its benefits would be all the extra time that we'd have. She points out that people in medieval times worked far fewer hours than Americans do today, and that most people in modern-day peasant societies also work less hard than we do.
This, along with Astyk's unique perspective as a woman, a mother and a peak oil activist, makes Depleiton and Abundance well worth a read. The ring of authenticity to her writing will hook you - while its relaxed style, ineffable humor, personal anecdotes and comforting touch will soothe your melancholy peaknik soul like a warm hand on the shoulder.
Reviewed by Frank Kaminski, Energy Bulletin

Sharon's introduction is pricelss in its succinct, dead-on analysis of collapse, and is reason enough to buy and send this book to everyone you know who is partially or completely clueless about where we're headed. "When I realized that everything was going to change, I was at first afraid. Because I thought, if my government or public policy or other choices weren't going to fix everything, what could I possibly do? What hope was there, if I had to take care of myself, if my community had to take care of itself?
But when I began looking for solutions that could be applied on the level of ordinary human lives, that involved changes in perspectives and pulling together, the reclamation of abandoned ideas and the restoration of strong communitites, I began to feel hopeful, even excited. Because I realized that when large institutions cease to be powerful, sometimes that means that people start being powerful again."
Depletion and Abundance is not a feel-good book, but it is intensely human, compassionate, supportive, pracitcal, alarming, enlivening, and astonishingly accurate.
Reviewed by Carolyn Baker, Carolynbaker.net

OK, quick check: everyone who is concerned about the economic crisis turning into a depression and causing food and fuel prices to rise and pockets to empty - whether for yourself, your parents, your children, your neighbors, your friends, or anyone - raise your hand. That covers just about everyone, doesn't it? Almost every conversation I've had recently with different people lately has touched on the economy and people's fears about what this situation means. Astyk knows she's covering a lot of territory to bring many people up to speed on the various causes behind our current crisis. Her research and thoughtful insight in discussing peak oil, climate change, and the economy are on target too.We may be headed into difficult times - and heaven knows, if you read only Astyk's first chapter, you might find yourself too depressed to go on --but ultimately we still retain the ability to choose a certain aount of independence. We can invest our time and our work in the sustenance of our selves, our families, and our communities, and we can begin to build a more sustainable economy. Sharon Astyk's book gives us the hope and the inspiration needed to take that step.Reviewed by Jennifer M, The Ethicurean

Climate change, peak oil, and economic instability aren't just future social problems-they jeopardize our homes and families right now. Our once-abundant food supply is being threatened by toxic chemical agriculture, rising food prices, and crop shortages brought on by climate change. Funding for education and health care is strained to the limit, and safe and affordable housing is disappearing.

Depletion and Abundance explains how we are living beyond our means with or without a peak oil/climate change crisis, and that, either way, we must learn to place our families and local communities at the center of our thinking once again. The author presents strategies to create stronger homes, better health, and a richer family life and to:

• live comfortably with an uncertain energy supply
• prepare children for a hotter, lower energy, less secure world
• survive and thrive in an economy in crisis
• maintain a kitchen garden to supply basic food needs

Most importantly, readers will discover that depletion can lead to abundance, and the anxiety of these uncertain times can be turned into a gift of hope and action.

An unusual family perspective on the topic, this book will appeal to all those interested in securing a future for their children and grandchildren.

Sharon Astyk is a former academic who farms in upstate New York with her husband and four children. She also raises livestock, grows vegetables, and writes about food and peak oil. (Check out her blog-www.sharonastyk.com.)

About the Author
Sharon Astyk is a former academic who is a writer, subsistence farmer, parent, activist and prolific blogger (www.sharonastyk.com and http://henandharvest.com/). She farms in upstate New York with her husband and four children, raises livestock, and grows and preserves vegetables.She is the author of Depletion and Abundance, and co-author of A Nation of Farmers.

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