World Famous Comics: The Easy Guide to Solar Electric Part II, Installation Manual
The Easy Guide to Solar Electric Part II, Installation Manual
By: Adi Pieper Publisher: ADI Solar Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: ADI Solar Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 192 Publication Date: 2003-11
Product Description: The author's second book is a hands-on book on how to install a solar electrical system. It covers, every aspect of a solar installation in great detail, including: electrical theory with emphasis on DC wiring, system design, electrical code, as well as components of a solar system down to quirks, nuts, and bolts. In its humorous language the book also looks at alternative energy politics, policies, and the industry through a critical eye.
Another excellent book! Having just recently moved into a solar house I've been trying to broaden my education on solar electricity. Both of Mr. Pieper's books, part one and two have been very educational for me. Very easy to read and understand without previous technical knowledge!
Easy Guide to SE For me, this book was terribly bad; not worth the buy. It might appeal to a different crowd.
Great Solar Guide This book is great. It covers the bases and gives the information one needs. It's a core book for this subject.
Seriously flawed Pieper has a lot of practical knowledge but some things he writes are plain wrong. On page 17 he writes: "The frequency of the sine wave is measured as Hz per second" (should be cycles per second which is Hz). On page 18 he says: "the sine wave [is] 220 volts between two peaks" (should be 311 v; 220 is the RMS voltage). On page 23 he says: "amp hours [are] also refered to as amps per hour or amp/hours" (not true). In page 27 he writes: "At some point, the resistance gets so high that it creates heat inside the conductor" (there is always resistance and heat, the problem is the temperature rises too high). He also is convinced the minerals in petroleum jelly help conductivity on the battery terminals (pp. 123&159) and says "search current" when he means "surge current" (pp. 120&125). Whole pages are such confusing technical nonsense that it is impossible to to give a short account. He self published - he should have had a technically competent person help him with theory and a good how-to book editor help with the practical stuff. I'm sure he is a very competent electrician and there is some good practical information in the book, but it is nowhere near as advertised.
The Easy Guide To Solar Electric Part 2 I found this book at the public library in my search for a good guide to solar electric systems. I found a small amount of the information useful but, most was a waste of my time. The writer does not explain ideas in a very coherent manner. He uses a great deal of book space attempting to be funny and expressing his political views. If you are interested in a good solar electric book this is not it. I am still looking.
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