The Solar Design Book

About the Author

Neil Kaminar started his career in solar energy in the early 1970s by helping to design and build a solar house in Atascadero, California. The effort was done in conjunction with CalPoly University. The house used movable insulating panels to control the temperature of water in plastic bags on the roof. The house maintained comfortable interior temperature year round. The sun was used to heat the water in the winter while radiation to the night sky was used to cool the water in the summer.

In the late 1970s, Mr. Kaminar was hired to help design advanced concentrator modules at the Varian Research Center in Palo Alto, California. The concentrators used the advanced gallium-arsenide solar cells developed at Varian. Mr. Kaminar's technical innovations are still the basis for all point-focus concentrators. Mr. Kaminar also helped develop advanced III-V solar cells for space applications, including the first multi-junction cells.

In the late 1980s, Mr. Kaminar formed a partnership company, PVI, for manufacturing concentrators. The company designed, manufactured, and installed linear-focus concentrators. Mr. Kaminar designed the concentrator as well as designed and built much of the manufacturing equipment. Mr. Kaminar held the General Contractor License for the company. He designed and oversaw the installations. In the late 1990s the company was reorganized under the name EcoEnergies and started selling and installing flat-plate modules and systems.

In 2000, Mr. Kaminar joined SunPower Corporation. Mr. Kaminar was part of the team that developed the high-efficiency modules at SunPower. The company had a successful IPO in 2005.

Since 2006, Mr. Kaminar has worked as a consultant to various companies worldwide. His motivation for writing Solar Basics and Solar Design is to give back to the world some of the knowledge gained in his 40-year career in Solar Energy.

Mr. Kaminar has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Cal Poly University.