ok, so i know its REEEEAAAAAALLLLLYYYYYY old but i thought id share my experience in case anyone is looking at solar as an option so i got one of those stupid kits from overstock, 8w panel, pump, stupid LED light, etc. it did ok, but i didnt like the "only on for 4 hrs" feature, so i started researching 1st problem, running continuously, i figured my pump draws less than 1a, so to run all day/night, i needed minimum 24 amp hours. add in cloudy days, blocked sun, etc, i ended up with a 34AH AGM wheel chair battery(do some research, i went AGM for long life) 2nd problem, the 8w panel wouldnt power that, so to ebay i went. found a 35w monocrystalline panel(again, research it, the amorphous are cheaper, but dont last as long) from a california company that came with a charge controller(must have) that puts out 35w and close to 2A. 3rd problem. where the he(( is all this going? I mounted the panel on top of this trellis bench thing i built years ago using some aluminum angle, and various bolts/nuts, and ran the wire to the pond connecting it to the back of the bench with coax cable "staples". pump had a connector, not wires so i had to clip it, splice the wires into the charge controller, no problem. mounted the battery and charge controller in one of those metal ammo cans i had laying around(drilled a couple small holes for ventilation) and now the whole set up is weather tight-ish. plugged it all in and its worked for about 9 months, flawlessly. cost involved 60$ solar panel 90$ battery 10$ wire various fasteners were free as was the ammo can(had them), but ill say 20$ if you had to buy them(little bolts, coax cable clips, etc) i estimate the life around 5-8yrs for the battery. 15-20 for panel, and maybe a year for the pump(need to find another substitute, soon) so around 200$ of "free" electricity, to keep the water flowing in my 40gallon "pond" doesnt make alot of economic sense. but it was an experiment, and it beats digging a trench through the yard to get 110 to that area. the birds dig it, and im certain the mosquitos will too...sigh, another problem... at the end of the day, to figure it all out, you need to know what your load is(amperage draw for pump, lights, etc) then get a panel that makes more than that, then figure out how to store it( mine was 1a x 24= 24AH, plus close to 50% for error/clouds etc) ill post some pics later, or can email if you would like more info.

No, if we had battery back up then we could run independently of the utility no problem. However, in order to get the subsidies, we had to be tied to the grid. We also didn't want to deal with acres of batteries in the basement and recycling them when they went bad, so chose to skip that part. Instead, we have a 20kw propane fired generator which keeps us running when the power is out. The system is set up that our solar system kicks in 10 minutes after the power returns just to be sure that we won't electrocute anyone. I believe the technology exists to have us set up to operate independently during an outage, but that it was cost prohibitive for our purposes. Plus we would still be out of power at night or pretty much during a storm with clouds which is just when we'd need it. So we chose the more reliable "jenny the generator".

Sunsetter EasyShade - Solar 4 ft which I purchased 3 years ago gave upon working. I measured the output of the solar control unit which exhibits 9 Volts and the specification asks for 12 Volts. Is 9 Volts not enough to drive the shades motor?? What do I need to do: 1. Replace the battery inside? 2. Order a new controller unit from Sunsetter EasyShade for $ 180.00 ? Anybody having some ideas? Please let me know! wdelange@ymail.com

I can't help with the solar and battery issues except to wonder how much extra it is to replace a roof with the solar. I have also worried about people steeling the panels. However I certainly have opinions on the generator side. First, you appear to only need a small generator. A regular gasoline generator like I have IS noisy. I think propane or natural gas wouldn't make a difference. My generator is 7000 watts. Most of these portables are 5 or 7000 watt units. I am in the country on a well with regular HVAC downstairs and a heat pump upstairs. When using my 7000 watt unit, I can run one of those heat sources or AC if needed but if one had only a single unit drawing more power, I doubt even 7000 watts would work for AC. But you don't need any of that and could run everything you need on 5000 watts easy. I had an electrician readjust breakers in the panel so that an Interlock breaker set could be added Instead of adding a Transfer switch that is far more expensive and partially inconvenient. The Interlock is a manual breaker that I must throw to disconnect the main line so the generator can't feed it and instead goes to the house wiring only. A transfer Switch box does this automatically which is nice but it only allows the specific added wiring in the Transfer box to be working. If the electrician doesn't wire in a basement or attic light or almost any suddenly needed circuit, you won't have it. With interlock, I have access to all circuits without all the transfer wiring cost. I just can't let everything run at once. I just shut down unneeded heavy loads while I am switching the Interlock Breaker. I have had my unit for about 12 years. I have had some issues but I am handy. I have changed the oil several times and unfortunately had a failure of a voltage regulator during a potential long outage that fortunately was only about 12 hours. I have been casual about starting the generator monthly and doubt my inattention has caused me extra trouble. Re noise: I hear that there are new 'generators' that are quieter. They are called 'Inverters'. They are more expensive or less powerful, but again, you don't need much. If you did go the portable Generator route: COSTCO is selling a multi option unit with electric or manual pull start that uses gasoline or Gas. I don't recall if the gas was propane or natural gas or maybe both. Very inexpensive too. My unit is a Briggs & Stratton Powerboss (no longer made) with a B&S generator and a real Honda engine that was $900 at COSTCO 12 years ago. This one is a Chinese unit for ~$750 today. I have no idea of life range.