Here is a ebook review I just did.
Disclaimer: Kriss Bergethon of Solar Sphere asked me to review his ebook called Is Solar Right For Me? which he provided to me free of charge. Also I am not an expert in solar, but I have been running this hobby website for 3 years.
Another disclaimer: I am a terrible writer (which is ironic because I write a lot on my blogs) and I am probably the last person in the world that should be doing a book review.
First I want to say that is book does not fall in to the group of spammy ebooks out there right now that show you how to make a solar panel for low cost. This is a real ebook, you can tell he spent a ton of time putting it together and is more concerned about educating the public about solar than making money off the book.
I mostly wanted to review this book because I am thinking of creating a ebook (actually video series) on how to create your own solar panel diagram plans for your DIY solar system. I am partial to videos because I think it is very hard to read a 60+ page book online (ah, my eyes hurt). Most eco-friendly people who buy this ebook will not print it out because they don’t want to waste paper.
Does the ebook help you answer the question of it’s title: ‘Is Solar Right For Me?‘ Not really. The title of the book had me confused, because in appears to be more geared towards the layperson in offering a overview of solar power and not really helping you answer the question.
When I started reading the book I kind of expected to see it in a series of questions like, “does your roof face south, what type of roof do you have” and then providing an answer if solar power might be the right choice for you. But the books starts with an overview of solar power.
He does have a nice section on how to live more efficiently which is nice since Kriss lives off grid and he must be a pro at this.
The Getting Started Checklist on the last page should be at the front of the book since that is what the title is all about. Or perhaps he should rename it to General Overview of Solar Power. I guess I was just expecting something totally different.
He does offer good advice on what to look for in a contractor and what red flags you should watch out for, like does the contractor say he doesn’t need a permit.
The ebook is unfortunately outdated already because there is no mention of micro-inverters and how they differ from central inverters.
Is it worth $29? I am not sure. I think it might be if Kriss changed the format around a bit. Perhaps it would be if he asked more questions to see if you are in a good spot for solar to work, like the new Iphone app that came out (which I plan on review in the future) to see if you will have shading obstructions in the winter months.
