Similarly to Radiant Floor Heating, this straddles the line between informational guide for interested
homeowners and how-to handbook for contractors. However, Ramlow does a much
better job explaining concepts with a minimum of technical jargon (though the
end of the book does bog down a bit in the details). Just as it says on the
cover, this book explains how to heat your domestic hot water or even your entire
house with a solar collection system, including collector placement, system
sizing, heat storage, and different collector types.
I enjoyed this book a lot – Ramlow writes clearly and
concisely and includes very useful diagrams that walk a layperson through the
intricacies of plumbing. There is some discussion given to pricing, though of
course each system is different. Additionally, although Ramlow notes at the
beginning there are only three kinds of collector types he recommends, the book
covers other types (for reference when doing maintenance on existing systems) and
does not note with sufficient clarity which types are not recommended. Generally though,
this was a fascinating reference for an underutilized technology.
