Earlier this year, I was lucky enough to tour Germany.

What does Germany have to do with reviewing a book on how to get electricity from solar panels?

Practically everything. You see, Germany is the world leader in the production of photovoltaic solar energy. They produce more than the rest of Europe combined, so it is clear that they are far ahead of their time. I saw entire villages powered by voltaic solar cells.

So when I returned to the United States, I had a real interest in learning more. I know that the electricity itself is free, but I was wondering if it would be profitable to install the solar systems that would deliver the electricity.

It seems that there are two types of books available on the subject. You dig into the technicalities of solar power, it’s many pages long, and it costs from $ 30 and up.

The other “type” is a basic little solar “how-to” book like this one. AJ O’Brien cautions readers early on that this book is small, and it is. O’Brien suggests to readers that it is for those who are just beginning their “solar journey” (like me).

The book has only a few chapters. Chapter names follow a “who, what, when, where, why, and how” format. These are some of the chapter names:

  • Why Solar?
  • How does a solar cell system work?
  • How do I choose the right system for me?
  • What do I need to know before buying?

Finish the book with a section titled “Five Things You Should Know About Solar Power.”

The book is rich in basics, light in detail, as much as the author promised. One of the cool things he covered is that solar-generated electricity is probably the future in the United States and other countries, whether we like it or not. The reason is that we are running out of other options. In Florida, where I live (and where the author apparently lives too), we use coal and nuclear energy to produce electricity. Coal gets dirty and it takes a lot of effort and energy to clean the effluent. Nuclear power, of course, has its own problems, as the Japanese have learned. Solar panels, on the other hand, produce clean, unlimited electricity and have no “side effects.” We are simply not ready for it yet due to the cost. But we are coming.

O’Brien covers all the basics for a starter book. It has a Resources section for those, like me, who want to learn more.

This book is probably worth reading as a starting point. I’d like to see a little more detail. However, it is a pretty decent starter book for your “solar journey” or just to learn the basics of this topic quickly. I recommend it for those purposes; After reading this book, you can decide if you want to go deeper.

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