James Kachadorian,
Author, & Vermont Resident

James Kachadorian is a civil engineer with degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Worcester Polytchnic Institute. He live in a solar home of his own design and construction in Woodstock, Vermont.

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-yourselves.

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 solare 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.