(Back cover) While heat from sunlight and ventilation from breezes is free for the taking, few modern architects or builders really understand the principles involved. Yet "natural conditioning"- heating and cooling with passive solar techniques- is a viable alternative to fossil fuels. Dan Chiras, author of the popular book 'The Natural House,' brings these principles to a new generation of solar enthusiasts. Chiras sets the record straight on the vast potential for passive heating and cooling. Acknowledging the good intentions of misguided solar designers in the past, he highlights certain egregious errors and shows how to avoid them. In methodical detail he provides contemporary home builders with all the necessary tools for successful solar design.