Probably the most neglected part of a system design is safety. Programmers put off documentation and home electricians put off safety.

Will Edison beat Tesla after all? Over 100 years ago Tesla was the hero. Edison's DC-based power grid was not going to work. But as technology has advanced we have developed lots of ways to distribute and use DC more efficiently.

A big problem with AC is that it is much less convenient to store. The most common method is to build a big dam such that the water behind it is the storage facility. Not exactly a portable solution.

On the other hand, we can store DC in a number of portable ways. Batteries and capacitors are two examples.

After a few years of living off-grid I can add practical knowledge to theory. This article offers a short story on the good things I learned and some tips on what not to do.

My System

I elected to design and build my own off-grid system. My goal was to meet most of my electricity needs with close to no ongoing costs and an initial investment of less than what a grid connection would cost. For the most part, I have met those goals.

Last year I said I was working on an alternative energy book. A do-it-yourself guide for an off-grid home. The project got derailed by my months off-line and all so much catch-up work since. The book is still on my project list but recently I have been getting quite a few questions about doing primarily PV solar systems. While no substitute for the book, I have desired to scribble down some of the considerations here.

Multiple people have asked me "What did you do?" Let me address that question first.

I have been hearing rumors about new PV technology that reduces silicon usage. Today, I saw this ecogeek article that tells the story. Wow is the word that comes to mind.

From the article:

The cells are made of micron-sized silicon wires that are encased in a flexible polymer that can be rolled or bent.