Book review: "The Visual Handbook of Energy Conservation"

If you are reading this blog, there is a very good chance that you are concerned about energy efficiency in your home. You may perhaps have read some of my website and considered making improvements to your home to reduce your energy consumption. If you are looking for the ideal book companion to guide you through the process of improving energy efficiency in your home, look no further than Charlie Wing’s book: “The Visual Handbook of Energy Conservation: A Comprehensive Guide to Reducing Energy Use at Home“.  It is impeccable in every regard, the text is written in plain English and uses easy to understand terms and concepts.  Charlie is already well known for his beautiful illustrations and they are there on almost every page of this book. He covers every aspect of energy use, from the building envelope itself to everything in it ranging from heating and cooling systems all the way down to phantom electric loads. I cannot emphasize enough that anyone even remotely interested in energy conservation in their home should purchase this book and read every page, there is no question in my mind that you will recoup the investment.


I have met Charlie on several occasions, in fact he used to live down the road from me before I moved here and he is well known in the midcoast Maine region as something of an expert on efficient building design and construction and he co-founded the Shelter Institute.  He and I taught several workshops on how to make interior insulating storm windows, and he asked for my input when drafting the section in his book that refers to these windows. I was delighted to see that he acknowledged myself and some of my friends in the front of the book for our token contributions.

I will say it again: buy this book.  You will not regret it.
(re-posted from my old blog from December 1, 2013)