Alternative Energy For Dummies
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(as of Sep 19, 2025 10:04:21 UTC – Details)
The myths and facts about alternative fuels–and how they impact our lives
As the price of energy continues to soar, so too has the demand for alternative energy. But there’s no clear “winner” in the race to replace fossil fuels. Alternative Energy For Dummies explores the current fossil fuel conundrum and society’s growing need for more and more energy. Cutting through the competing claims, this book offers a multifaceted examination of alternative energy, including solar, wind, nuclear, biomass, geothermal, biofuel, and other sources. Each alternative scenario is compared to current fossil-fuel intensive practices in the scientific, environmental, social, political, and economic realms. Readers also gain insight into the future of energy production.
Publisher : For Dummies
Publication date : May 4, 2009
Edition : 1st
Language : English
Print length : 384 pages
ISBN-10 : 0470430621
ISBN-13 : 978-0470430620
Item Weight : 1.3 pounds
Dimensions : 7.4 x 1 x 9.2 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #1,516,996 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #46 in Wind Energy #96 in Solar Energy #1,802 in Telecommunications & Sensors
Customer Reviews: 4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 75 ratings var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
Customers say
Customers find the book easy to read and appreciate its information quality, with one customer noting it provides a basis for further research. The book explores alternative energy options, and customers consider it good value for money. However, the encyclopedia content receives mixed feedback, with one customer noting it’s not as technical as they would like.
10 reviews for Alternative Energy For Dummies
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Original price was: $24.99.$12.80Current price is: $12.80.
Lloyd Long –
An Informative Page-turner
Several months ago I read an interesting National Geographic article on ethanol. I learned how Brazil’s motor vehicles run on ethanol, and how expensive it is to produce ethanol from corn.But where could I find a book covering the salient points on hydrogen fuel cells, coal, diesel engines, nuclear power, solar cells, maglev trains, wind power, geothermal heating, hybrid-electric vehicles, natural gas, and hydropower? And how does each energy source affect global warming and pollution?Alternative Energy for Dummies discusses all these topics and more in a very readable fashion and at an affordable price. I read the book from cover to cover.
Dano1851 –
Basics on Alternative Energy
As a ‘green’ thinker, I was looking for some ideas as to how to reduce my dependencies on the utilities and energy providers. I had some preconceived notions as to what was available, but really did not know the advantages or disadvantages of the choices.The author does a great job producing content that can be scanned for items of interest without requiring that you read the book cover to cover. Each of the alternative energy options are explored, with pros and cons, estimated pricing options, and a good comparitive summary.
Placeholder –
Good
Good
Dusty Williams –
Solar, wind, and all the available renewable energy solutions every home or business
This book also visits the reasons of how and why we perceive energy as we do, poorly. Clear and concise, worth a read for everyone looking to understand and enter the amazing solutions to your energy needs.
Yanni –
GREAT BOOK MUST READ
GREAT BOOK, must read for all people of all educational levels who want to understand the current spectrum of technologies out there that can replace (well …likely supplement) oil as our main resource for power production.
David Gurgel –
Easy Reading Low Level Descriptions of Alternative Energy
I am a professional engineer with degrees in mechanical and nuclear engineering. I specialize in energy systems for building heating, cooling, and lighting. I have forty years of work experience. This book with twenty-three chapters and 362 pages covers pretty much the full range of alternative energy options that are commercially available or nearly so for consumers. The technical level seems to me about what one would expect for articles in Parade, the Sunday newspaper supplement. Diagrams are few and very simple. (There is nothing wrong with writing for this level of reader.)Certainly a qualitative discussion of how alternative systems work and what advantages they bring is helpful, but even an interested high school physics student would be looking for more technical content. The book’s cover has as the first objective learning to “evaluate the various forms of alternative energy,” but evaluation (a comparison of alternatives for example) requires thermodynamic and other technical facts and energy and system cost data far beyond those presented in this book.After reading this book you will be able to describe in general terms (but certainly not engineering terms) the various alternatives; but you will have little basis for comparisons and selections.The book has many technical mistakes. For example, the book states, “According to Carnot’s law, these smaller power generating machines can never achieve the efficiencies of the massive power plants…” He is speaking here of the Carnot thermodynamic cycle; but that “law” says nothing at all about the size of the system. Carnot (French engineer, 1796 – 1832) found that the theoretical efficiency of an engine operating on the Carnot thermodynamic cycle depends only on the temperatures of the hot and cold reservoirs.Describing a nuclear reactor the books says, “so there is a need to constantly keep feeding in new uranium material in order to keep the consistent, steady flow of energy that is desired from a nuclear reactor.” Nuclear reactors powering electrical generating stations or naval vessels control the power output by raising and lowering neutron-absorbing control rods. New nuclear material is added only during refueling, which take place every year or two while the reactor is shut down.The book states that steam is produced in a nuclear power plant in “the boiler (this is similar to the boilers used for fossil fuels.) The steam in a nuclear plant is produced in a steam generator that is far different in design than a fossil fuel boiler.The book states, “Some reactors don’t allow the water to boil; they keep it under high pressure and use that pressure to spin the turbine.” In every common reactor system, the water that cools the reactor in the end produces steam. For example high pressure water that goes through the reactor in a pressurized water reactor turns lower pressure water in a separate circuit into steam in the steam generator, which is just a big water to water heat exchanger. All turbines that drive generators in reactor plants are steam turbines.All of us must start with simple descriptions of new things. But one can not stop there if one wants to make accurate decisions. It is not common sense or higher moral values that drive innovation, but rigorous and often difficult engineering together with a knowledge of the economics of energy markets and knowledge of systems installation costs and operating costs.
Gregg Lowney –
Required an Editor
The book is very sloppy in both content and style. There were paragraphs that I had to read seven or eight times to try and figure out what part of the message the author left out. There are “facts” included in the text that don’t even pass the giggle test. It appears there are many key words that are missing, little clues that might indicate a number represents “millions” of tons, and not tons. Of course the correct answer might be “billions”, the text offers no clue.The author begins the book by stating that he will be “neutral” on the issue of anthropogenic global warming, and then throughout the book takes every opportunity to link alternative energy to AGW — focusing on carbon emissions, which he always refers to as “greehouse gases”.I love the DUMMIES series, and have well over a dozen in my library. This is the first one that really disappointed me. A decent editor with knowledge of the subject could have fixed it.
3.14159265359 –
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Wasnât very helpful.
B. Zabavnik –
Still it does not mean it won’t work this side of the atlantic. With everybody rushing around being nimbys(not on my backyard) sometimes people lose sight of the aim of alternate energy= to make you independent of monopoly or cartel suppliers. This book gives you ideas of where to start. Environmentalists – who tend to be wealthy, lose sight of the other aspect of alternative energy = low cost. and convenience. The oter aspect that environmentalists lose sight of is the trail of supply. Do you still have a water tank in your domicile? Can you operate without electricity? Photovoltaic panels are very nice but what happens wen the main grid goes down? are you still supplied?Read this book and get a reality check.
Ahcos –
Arrived as described.Book is limited in its description.