The use of solar energy to heat and cool buildings predates recorded history. Yet in recent years, decisions about design and materials for home construction have been made as though there were an endless supply of fossil fuels. Not only have we forgotten about classic design principles, but we've lost countless opportunities to continue the age-old process of solar innovation.

When our national fossil-fuel supplies were disrupted in the early 1970s, the need to reinvigorate the methodology of solar design became acute. Entrepreneurs and inventors launched any number of businesses to supply the public demand for solar homes, in some cases building odd-looking, uncomfortable glass boxes.

This book offers a technique for building homes that heat and cool themselves in a wide range of different climates, using ordinary building materials available anywhere and with methods familiar to all building contractors and many do-it-yourselfers.

A formerly patented design for author James Kachadorian's Solar Slab heat exchanger is now available for the use of anyone motivated by the desire to build a house that needs a backup furnace or air conditioner rarely if ever.

This is a building book for the next century. Applicable to a diversity of regions, climates, budgets, and styles of architecture, Kachadorian's techniques translate the essentials of timeless solar design (siting a home in harmony with nature, using windows as solar collectors, achieving year-round comfort by balancing good insulation with healthy supplies of fresh air) into practical wisdom for today's new generation of solar builders.

Whether you are a young person dreaming of a first home or an older person imagining a comfortable and easy to maintain (and resell) retirement home, The Passive Solar House will be your key to the home of a lifetime.