[TheMercenary]

I have been wanting to do it for a long time, go completely solar that is. It costs an average of $20,000 to completely set up a moderately sized home in the US to go solar. The best you can do is buy little bits at a time as you can afford them or get a loan, do the job, and get your money back in rebates or tax breaks. I have done a ton of research on it. For us, we have just determined that the best bet is to wait until we move again, which should be soon (few years). Off the grid is a different set up altogether, but there is a lot of mixing of terms. The best situation is where you can use the utility provider in times you need them, and not when you don't have to, all the while selling your excess electricity back to them as you produce it (but you will only get a flat wholesale rate from them, not what they charge you to get it fromt them). An alternative is to go solar for little stuff around the house that uses electricity. The most common one is your hot water heater. Next can be isolated circuits like your airconditioner or other isolated circuits as you see fit. Either way it is not cheap to do and really depends on how much electricity you use over the year. I am a complete novice when it comes to electricity beyond simple wire diagrams and putting up flood lights or adding a plug here and there to expand what I have. There are a lot of really smart people on here so I am only telling you what I have researched to this point.