Solar Energy Resource Guide (SERG), 9th Edition

With this guide that we affectionately call the SERG, we aim to offer information in the form of a primer on all things solar. Whether you are completely new to the energy world, considering solar or energy upgrades for your home or business, designing a home, seeking a “green” career, already employed in solar, creating energy regulations, volunteering in solar, reporting on energy for the media, or simply a solar energy supporter, we hope you will find the discussions within these pages useful.

We’ve expanded the 9th edition’s content to capture some of these changes, but there’s so much more than what could fit within these pages! There’s a bit of overlap, especially in the areas where solar and energy efficiency come together: zero net energy buildings, passive solar/Passive House, retrofitting existing homes … where we’ve repeated the same information in separate articles, we hope that’s the accumulated information is helpful as you pick up and put down this Guide over time.

We’re trying something new with this 9th edition, by putting some of these articles online (www.norcalsolar.org) and keeping them up-to-date as the solar world continues to evolve. Know that what drives many of us to keep up our efforts in promoting and using clean renewable energy and efficiency is the science showing increasing changes to the global natural environment, unprecedented in history, and most likely caused by humans’ combustion of fossil fuels for energy. We believe that the magnitude of what we’re doing to the planet is so great that our minds cannot fully comprehend it. The younger generations are experiencing a different natural environment than that of their parents and grandparents. Please join us in continuing to work for a future (and a present) that’s fueled by clean
energy options!