Earthship

Many people do not want to pay ever increasing electricity bills any more, but when they look at the alternatives they are often shocked by the initial investments for going off the grid. Prices for solar panels and other technologies for home made energy have decreased dramatically in recent years, but costs are still very high.

The cheapest way to use solar power is definitely to create your own system. Use websites like this and other resources to learn about solar energy and how to combine it with other, cheaper or simpler renewable energy (e.g. wind). Meanwhile there are easy-to-follow do-it-yourself instructions available for solar panels (e.g. Earth 4 Energy) or parabolic dishes (e.g. Solar Stirling Plant).

If you still want to go the easy and safe way ask solar energy companies for long-term payment plans and government rebates. Compare your payment plan with your electricity bill and you will find out under which circumstances it is worth changing to solar power. In Australia Energy Matters have payment plans and information about rebates available.

Another way to wipe out electricity bills is to ally with other people. Would neighbours be interested to share investments? Is there a community (cooperative) in your area that you can join? Bigger plants are usually more efficient, more cost-effective, and provide additional options. For example it is possible to use solar thermal technologies or energy storage methods that are hardly practical for individual households.

If you are able to modify your house or build a new one, check out possibilities to use energy-efficient ideas like they are for example heavily used with Earthships. This website and other places offer many ideas to reduce the required amount of energy without compromising your quality of life.

Which ideas do you have to cheaply get off the power grid?