Search  for anything...
New Society Publishers

Essential Sustainable Home Design: A Complete Guide to Goals, Options, and the Design Process (Sustainable Building Essentials Series, 5)

  • Based on 50 reviews
Condition: New
Checking for the best price...
$18.60 Why this price?
Save $26.39 was $44.99

Buy Now, Pay Later

As low as $4 / mo
  • – 4-month term
  • – No impact on credit to apply
  • – Instant approval decision
  • – Secure and straightforward checkout

Ready to go? Add this product to your cart and select a plan during checkout.

Payment plans are offered through our trusted finance partners Klarna, Affirm, Afterpay, Apple Pay, and PayTomorrow. No-credit-needed leasing options through Acima may also be available at checkout.

Learn more about financing & leasing here.

Free shipping on this product

FREE 30-day refund/replacement

To qualify for a full refund, items must be returned in their original, unused condition. If an item is returned in a used, damaged, or materially different state, you may be granted a partial refund.

To initiate a return, please visit our Returns Center.

View our full returns policy here.

Availability: Only 4 left in stock, order soon!
Fulfilled by Amazon
Arrives Friday, Jun 19
Order within 12 hours and 45 minutes
Available payment plans shown during checkout
Protection Plan Protect Your Purchase
Checking for protection plans...

Recently Viewed

Description

Design Your Dream Sustainable Home with Confidence Part of the Sustainable Building Essentials series, Essential Sustainable Home Design is the complete guide to envisioning, planning, and designing a high-performance, environmentally friendly home. Learn how to turn your ideas into a practical, buildable plan while maximizing energy efficiency, durability, and comfort. What You'll Learn Clarify Your Vision: Define goals, priorities, and pathways to bring your sustainable home project to life. Smart Decision-making: Use a criteria matrix to compare materials, systems, and design options for optimal performance and environmental impact. Integrated Team Approach: Work effectively with architects, designers, engineers, and code officials to keep your project on track. High-performance Building Science: Understand the fundamentals of thermal comfort, energy efficiency, moisture management, and durability to inform design choices. Practical Planning Tools: Streamline logistics, material sourcing, budgeting, and construction protocols to turn vision into reality. Material and System Guidance: One-page summaries and ratings of popular sustainable building materials and systems help you make informed, confident decisions. Written by Chris Magwood, a leading sustainable building expert, this guide blends practical methods, design strategies, and building science for both DIY homebuilders and professionals. Whether designing from scratch or improving existing plans, this handbook gives you the confidence and tools to create a truly sustainable home. Explore the full Sustainable Building Essentials series for practical, illustrated guidance on natural building techniques, high-performance walls, and sustainable construction systems. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ New Society Publishers


Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 31, 2017


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 224 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 00


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.7 ounces


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 0.28 x 10.98 inches


Part of series ‏ : ‎ Sustainable Building Essentials


Frequently asked questions

If you place your order now, the estimated arrival date for this product is: Friday, Jun 19

Yes, absolutely! You may return this product for a full refund within 30 days of receiving it.

To initiate a return, please visit our Returns Center.

View our full returns policy here.

  • Klarna Financing
  • Affirm Pay in 4
  • Affirm Financing
  • Afterpay Financing
  • PayTomorrow Financing
  • Financing through Apple Pay
Leasing options through Acima may also be available during checkout.

Learn more about financing & leasing here.

Similar Products

Top Amazon Reviews

    • This book will help us with resiliency
Format: Paperback
Sustainable Home Design by Chris Magwood is billed as “a complete guide to goals, options, and the design process,” and it does a pretty good job of delivering all of this. Designing any home is a major endeavor and designing one that would be considered sustainable is even more complex, because this introduces a fistful of criteria to filter through. This book helps with that filtering process. What is meant by “sustainable” varies with emphasis, and this is where each designer must decide which aspects are of paramount importance. The very first thing to do when setting out on this venture is to precisely define your goals and criteria, and this will guide all of your other choices. There is one long chapter that will help you make these decisions. Another chapter looks at rating systems and product guides that are popular in North America and Europe, such as LEED for Homes and Energy Star certification. The value of these systems and guides for helping with decision making is outlined. The book has developed a criteria matrix that can be used as a basis for evaluating the various aspects of house design. There is a fairly detailed chapter on building science basics, a topic that Magwood has written an entire book about. These considerations are very important for designing homes that are comfortable, durable and energy efficient. After goals and criteria have been established it is time to begin the design process, which ideally entails much careful thought and discussion before anything is committed to detailed plans. Many factors should be looked at, and Magwood suggests that developing a design team may be the best way to accomplish this. Whether you plan to engage in a total self design/build project or turn it all over to the professionals, you can benefit from learning from a variety of knowledgeable people. One chapter is devoted to how to develop such a design team. The codes and regulatory system is something that most designers and builders must deal with. It is best to consider these aspects from the very beginning, so there are no surprises down the road. One very useful chapter discusses how to approach this and what outcomes to expect. The last half of the book looks at all of the materials and systems that must be employed to create a modern home. Starting with the foundation and working upward to walls, floors, roofs, and mechanical systems. Common choices for each of these aspects is described and evaluated according to the criteria matrix presented earlier. This evaluation should help the designer make the most appropriate choices for his specific project. The chapter on mechanical systems describes all of the basic provisions needed for utilities, and includes HVAC choices. While the various heating options are shown, there is no way presented to compare each of them for efficiency, which should be a major consideration. In his concluding remarks, Magwood says, “We are, collectively, at the bottom edge of a learning curve to figure out how to maintain our current comfortable lifestyles while dramatically reducing our ecological impacts, our exposure to toxins, and our reliance on fossil fuels --- all with an eye toward resiliency in a rapidly changing world.” This book should help us on that path. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2017 by Kelly Hart
    • to general to be useful
Format: Paperback
there is nothing in this book not easily found on the internet. it is too broad of an overview to be useful for designing, or upgrading a home.
Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2025 by john campbell
    • This book is a tease...
Format: Paperback
It introduced a lot of topics and then dropped them without going into detail. On the balance, I found it frustrating.
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2022 by Amazon Customer
    • Worth the cost from cover to cover.
Format: Paperback
Lots of useful information.
Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2019 by Amazon Customer
    • Not for most people
Format: Paperback
Briefly covers a lot of subjects with very little information. The primary consideration seems to be embodied carbon in your house design.
Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2023 by Gary

Can't find a product?

Find it on Amazon first, then paste the link below.
Checking for best price...