1 comments about Energy: Use Less-Save More: 100 Energy-Saving Tips for the Home (The Chelsea Green Guides).

1. I am a thrift conscious consumer, i.e. college student. I was looking for helpful ways to reduce my outrageous heating bill in the blistery north. I thought this would be a great book, it was cheap and promised 100 tips. I considered buying the other books in the series and I'm glad I didn't.
   
   It's not that it was a bad book per se but it was not as insightful as I hoped. All the information in the book can be found on the internet, your local hardware store, or even given out by your utility provider. Needless to say I was disappointed to find that not only did I not learn anything new but all the information was available from many free sources.

5 comments about In Detail: Solar Architecture.

1. The book describes simple and neat residential building design in detail , shape, and material. The book should be applicable to architects or designers who aspire to work in modernism or minimalism on housing and who desire to improve the residential detil design to be more insighfully clean and blight. As well, the analysis from the publication could be developed to function in other architecture types.



2. I found the essays on simple construction to be variable in quality...The chapters on wood and steel either suffered in translation or were student composition exercises to begin with. The projects illustrated, however, are of uniformly high quality, and are documented with Detail's typical precision. For an American architect, many of the projects using wood construction will be eye openers. The stone and clay construction projects are wonderful for daydreaming about a different building culture in this country. Well worth it for the photos and drawings.



3. The book was exactly as I expected, high quality, detailed explanations in the Caliber of detail magazine. I will defiantly be purchasing the other books in this series.



4. This book is part of a deliriously excellent series of Birkhauser's In
   Detail collection, a series of books emphasizing and celebrating the importance of architectural details and the susbsequent spatial magic that emerges from the vigilant attention to design craft. Feast on the International wisdom; it's like architectural health food.



5. Very informative and gives a clear precise description of varying types on renovation and adaptive reuse.

5 comments about Manufacturing Facilities Design and Material Handling (2nd Edition).

1. The book can be thought of as a project development class. By using a hands-on approach, step by step, the author goes through the main issues in developing a project like this. By using plain english, the stuff is easy to read and well organized. The level is attainable to all readers no matter their previous level in the topic. The four stars classification comes from the lack of some deeper study in some areas which is necessary for kicking off facilities like this.



2. A good overview on the main points in developing an implementation proyect.



3. The book can be thought of as a project development using a hands-on approach. Step by step, the author go through the main issues in a project like this. By using a practical approach, the stuff is easy to be read and well organized. No previous knowledge on the topic is required before reading. The four stars come from the lack of a deeper treatment in some areas which are necessary for kicking off such a facility.



4. If you can't formulate a simple linear programming problem, then this book was made for you! No advance IE/OR quantitative methodologies required. However, I found this book covers important material that were left out from other books such as Tompkins' Facility Planning. Overall, I think that this book is a good complement for other books.



5. This is the most comprehensive facility design book that I have found. It touches upon just enough of architectural, process, material handling, and safety concerns to get you started and get you asking the right questions. I consult in a variety of industries but the basics remain the same. Great book.

3 comments about Energy-Efficient Building (Best of Fine Homebuilding).

1. I found this book beneficial. I believe that people doing either new construction or remodelling will find it helpful. It covers new ideas as well some often overlooked but simple, inexpensive methods that should be used in all construction.

   In particular, the first chapter is about energy efficiancy in general and performing an energy audit on your house to see where the energy is wasted or lost.

   For the price of this book, even if you only used one idea from the book, you would more than pay for the book in energy savings in one heating/cooling season.

   My reason for not giving 5 stars is, "There should even more ideas included in this book!"




2. Okay, I'll confess I don't own this book, but there are two reasons I wouldn't buy it, and each one knocks a star off my rating:
   
   1. This book seems a little old for this particular topic. Energy efficiency is an increasingly important issue in home building, and the various materials and technologies continue to evolve. There have been some advancements in the eight years since this book was compiled, and since it's a "best of," that means the articles in it are even older. I want the latest information available as I research this topic.
   
   2. Based on the table of contents, the book seems targeted toward saving energy in colder climates. I live in central Florida where we air condition most of the year. Our biggest concerns here are keeping the heat out, not in, and controlling the humidity (which is 91% outside as I write this) inside your home. This dictates doing some things differently here, and chapters on topics like fixing a cold, drafty house, preventing ice dams, and building an efficient fireplace just aren't applicable here. ;-)



3. This book is really a book. It is a collection of magazine articles from a well respected building magazine that cover different building techniques. One chapter per article. There is an article for every currently used, but not quite mainstream building technique to improve energy efficiency of a home.
   
   Since the articles are written independently and were later compiled into a book, there is no comparison and contrast between techniques. Since the articles are very well written and go into depth on each technique, then comparisons between similar techniques can be extrapolated out, but some things like cost comparisons may be difficult to gather from the articles alone.
   
   Overall a very good overview of what is out there and working in practice today.

4 comments about Industrial Refrigeration Handbook.

1. simple,in depth, informativ



2. I have covered this book in length-no other book or handbook comes close in terms of simplicity of it's explaination. The latest ASHRAE Refrigeration Handbook is a good reference to have when using this book as there are cross references.Value for money and looking forward to the next book that would be specific on Ammonia Refrigeration Systems design.



3. I enjoyed reading this book as a more intermediate industrial Mechanic, but for that price I expected a book with glossy pictures. I feel the book was over priced for a bunch of pages with drawings. Just a few black and white pics of equipment, and lots of complicated other stuff. The best pic was the cover. To really teach somebody this field you need to be a lot more visual.
   I wouldn't recommend this book to a beginner. It would be a bit frustrating. But for someone who just wants a reference book with lots of useful information I think this book is for you.



4. It's an oldie,but a goodie! It's still useful ,relevant and dependable.For readers who want the kindergarten pictorial paperback,here you will be greatly disappointed. It does have clear schematical drawings and diagrams,in no-nonsense black and white.The formulas and equations are plentiful and helpful.It's just the best handbook on all aspects and applications for workplace industrial refrigeration operations.I have not found another ,in this particular area,that is on par or better than this one.

No comments about Introduction to Electrical Mechanical Drafting with CAD.

1 comments about Modern Welding Technology.

1. This is not your typical welding book. It is exceptional. I have maybe 20 books on welding, but to keep only one book, this one would be the hands down choice. It is the most complete treatment of combining metals I have seen in one volume. However, if you are only interested in OA, SMAW or GMAW for example, maybe half of the book would be of little interest. This book covers the gamut of welding technoligies in surprising detail. Every welding method is discussed with sections also on brazing and soldering.
   What I liked most were the numerous photographs that accompany the discussion of each technology. They help make understanding fast and clear when combined with well written text. This is one of those rare welding books you can actually read without getting bored with either too much theory or rambling discussions of things not explained well.
   The information is there. I also liked the internal cutout views and descriptions of the equipment. It helps you understand the process much better when you understand both the equipment and the metals.
   'How-to' and 'What you did wrong' discussions are included for the core manual welding technoligies. Sections about 'designing for welding', 'distortion', 'failure analysis' 'repair', 'inspection' and 'heat forming and straightening' were interesting to me.
   This book is for someone who wants more information than is normally found in the average book on welding. It is authoritative. It is a valuable reference for the welding professional or student.

5 comments about The Homeowners Guide to Energy Independence: Alternative Power Sources for the Average American.

1. This book covers all of the basics that you need to know. I was particularly interested in the solar stuff. The author explains how you can save and avoids being too technical. Highly recommended. Truthfully, this is the kind of book that should be required reading for every home builder, home owner, and school kid.



2. This book gives just the right level of detail to get homeowners going with renewable energy. It gives the right level of detail to make financial and behavioral decisions. I liked the large number of references, as well--they give the reader the ability to look into particular subjects with more detail.
   
   This book covers all the bases without getting to lengthy and losing the reader's interest. It will get you informed and then get you on your way.



3. This is a great book for those who are looking at this topic for the first time. I wld recommend it to those who have just developed an interest in this area. It gives a basic overview & should wet the tastebuds for more - further information & weblinks are given in the back.



4. Homeowners interested in sustainable living will want to delve into this book, which will give them the basics to begin thinking about alternative energy.



5. A great title like this should be written by someone with experience in the field. There are a lot of sources from this guy named.... or this person from... This seems like someone just wanted to get a paycheck for writing a book on a hot topic.

No comments about HVAC Instant Answers.

1 comments about Basics of Energy Efficient Living: A Beginner's Guide to Alternative Energy and Home Energy Savings.

1. These days it seems that energy advice is available on every street corner--"turn down your thermostat", "caulk your house" or "buy a solar panel". Unfortunately, most of this "common sense" is either massively expensive or based on "cut back" and save. It's hardly inspiring or practical for real people.
   
   This book restores my confidence in practical energy solutions. It's not "preachy" or "environmentalist"---it simply lays out how energy works and options to cut energy waste. It's easy to read, yet packed with information. I haven't seen technical writing this good in years.
   
   The content is fairly evenly divided between discussions on preventing energy loss, recapturing lost energy, and obtaining "free" energy. The explanations are lucid, logical and cover the major energy options. The book also includes worksheets for calculating energy use in your own home.
   
   Overall, what I appreciate most is this book doesn't preach/promote a specific energy solution. Instead it simply explains the options and lets you decide what will give you the most gain for your specific house/lifestyle. Once you read this book I guarantee you won't think about energy the same way again.