Off-grid energy has come a long way in the past few years. Today, it is even possible to satisfy most of the power needs of an entire home without ever drawing a watt from the grid.

Start small...before you even consider going off-grid, consider the many ways you can lower your energy use without significantly affecting your way of life. The key concept here is efficiency; for almost every appliance and gadget in your home right now, there is a more efficient alternative. There are appliances and technologies on the market that dramatically reduce your energy consumption. For example, low-energy lighting - compact fluorescents - use 5W of power for every 20W that traditional incandescent bulbs use. (Just on the horizon are LED bulbs, which use only 1.2W and have a life expectancy of 45 years!) It isn't just smaller items like light bulbs. Even refrigerators can be more efficient. The super-energy-efficient refrigerators now on the market use only 1/5 of the energy of a conventional refrigerator!

Of course, many of us rely on computers in the home now; these energy-hungry machines can really pump up a power bill. Well, not all computers; laptops use only a fraction of the power of a desktop system! If you're thinking of buying a computer, consider going portable. Here's something to remember: Anything that uses electricity and generates heat in the process (intentionally or not) is, in effect, wasting energy. Next step: Reducing or even getting rid of those "ghost loads". Basically, we're talking about anything that uses a "wall box" (that heavy contraption attached to the plug on some appliances and many computer peripherals) or remote controls. Do all this, and you can get your power bill - that $100-or-more bill you get every month - down to around $30. Sound good? Sure it does.

Now, you're ready to think about stepping toward renewable energy. Here again, start small: Consider powering a few lights and a laptop computer, with solar cells. Or maybe you have an RV - it can be completely powered by solar cells. Solar is a totally outage-proof power source that requires very little maintenance. This is a good entry level for adding an off-grid component to your home's energy mix. Give it a try. Like the freedom it gives you? Like not having to pay a power company to operate those machines and appliances?

You want your energy demand down around 2-10 kw a day. (The average home on conventional electricity uses 36 or more kw a day.) Sound impossible? Just by taking the energy-saving steps we talked about above, you're already well on your way to getting there, and getting the power company out of your life. Are you building a home? There are architectural designs that make the most of passive solar and other technologies (some of which predate electricity!) that can eliminate much of your power needs altogether.

Click the "OFF-GRID Component" link to receive information on the modulus needed to have a successful off-grid system.