This book has been prepared to introduce some of the concepts and practices that have come to be known as "passive. solar heating and cooling" and to present a current picture of the field. Much of the material found in this book is de-: rived from papers presented at the 3rd National Passive Solar Conference held in San Jose, California in January 1979 and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. Extracts and data from these papers have been integrated in the text with explanatory ry and descriptive material. In this way, we have attempted to present technical information in an introductory context. An extensive list of references will lead the curious to further exploration of passive solar.concepts. The primary reference for the book is Proceedings of the 3rd National Passive Solar Conference, edited by Harry Miller, David Richards, and Michael Riordan and published by the American Section of the International Solar Energy Society (AS1 ISES). Copies can be obtained through ASIISES,