Super House: Design Your Dream Home for Super Energy Efficiency, Total Comfort, Dazzling Beauty, Awesome Strength, and Economy

Energy-efficiency expert Wulfinghoff brings a lifetime of experience in home design and efficiency to this hefty volume. Breaking the process of building a new home or retrofitting an existing one into eight steps, from planning to completion, Wulfinghoff focuses on choice of materials and systems that work well and support energy conservation and economy. He includes sections on choosing a builder, selecting doors and windows, plumbing, heating/cooling, and lighting. A lengthy section discusses alternative energy sources—solar, wind, geothermal—and earth-sheltered construction. Without sacrificing comfort or spending excessive amounts of money, it is possible to design a house that is far superior to those widely available, Wulfinghoff asserts. Though the illustrations are dated and the author’s tone condescending at times, the volume addresses almost any question a DIYer might have while building or renovating a home. Worksheets and checklists provide guidance for each phase of the process. At 692 pages, though, some might find this too unwieldy to carry along to a site. (Mar.)