Book excerpt: This timely study deals with the heating and cooling ofbuildings using innovative systems that can reduce fossilfuel and electric energy requirements by as much as 80 percent.Emphasis is placed on thermal storage, utility rate structures,peak load problems, and cogeneration of heat and powerin small-scale applications. The first several chapterstreat promises and problems of solar energy use for efficientcomfort conditioning. Other contributions deal with thesocial implications of future energy efficiency requirementswith a focus on the community.