Living off the grid no longer means giving up comfort or convenience. With the right mix of renewable energy, efficient systems, and smart planning, you can enjoy a self-sufficient lifestyle without ...

Kicking your utility to the curb sounds like a great deal, but it's more difficult than it sounds. Here's what it takes to go off the grid with solar panels. CNET contributor Eric Mack knows all too ...

Having spent 30+ years in residential construction, contracting, remodeling, maintenance and home repair, Deane now contributes DIY, informational and financial content as a freelance writer and ...

Like all solar energy systems, off-grid systems use solar panels to harness the sun’s energy for residential or commercial buildings. However, unlike more common grid-tied systems, they store some of ...

Real energy independence can be tricky to accomplish, but during the past few years, I've accumulated some insights that aren't so obvious. The main misconceptions about life off-grid are that it's a ...

Exciting advancements in solar energy are encouraging more and more folks to jump on the sustainability bandwagon and look into solar panels. Before you do so, though, you’ll need to consider whether ...

Off-grid power technology is getting better quickly, and this means it’s never been easier to enjoy running water and electric power for lighting and small cooking jobs in cabins and lakeside cottages ...

Joshua M. Pearce has received funding for research from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Mitacs, the U.S. Department of Energy and ...

Modernizing the electric grid involves more than upgrading control systems with sophisticated software—it requires embedding sensors and automated controls across the entire system. It’s not only the ...