Reddit mentions of The Solar Home Book: Heating, cooling, and designing with the sun

Ok well I'm no expert but it does fascinate me. My main ideas are solar water heating, and if you sunk a foundation deep enough the ground would provide natural insulation (ie below the permafrost). #1 is limited because of the problem of maintenance, and #2 is probably unworkable due to the unstable substrate. So there you. Yeah, superinsulation.

A couple quick caveats: you obviously have some inkling about green design, that you can passively heat a structure by orienting it south (in the case of the Northern Hemisphere). It's also possible to use something as simple as water tanks (fish tanks) as thermal sinks.

I'm pretty sure this is a book I used to have that's a really great guide to solar construction and much, much more. There's also a [new version](http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Solar-Home-Book/dp/0931790700](http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Solar-Home-Book/dp/0931790700) but no reviews for either one. I would snag one of those used copies of the newer version if I was you. It's from the 70's but a great concise overview of the fundamentals of green building. It's been a while since I finished school maybe there are better new texts available if you want to check.

The ideas of Paolo Soleri are also interesting to consider.