Thanks everyone for the information, and Tommyc & Simon, I have saved your instructions for a future project. I have been using solar panels with AA batteries to power my LED projects and it seems to be working wonderfully. I really like not having to hard wire stuff. It took me a few tries before I clued into just how bright different LEDs are. The first ones I got were pathetic, and I ended up using some 'mid-range' LEDs. They produce enough light to satisfy the look I'm trying to achieve. Still working on diffusing them somewhat to produce the most pleasing glow, apparently a small amount of silicon over the LED will do that. I also learned that 'yellow' LEDs don't necessarily produce 'yellow' light, but more amber. And that 'yellow' LEDS are actually clear. All very confusing, but once you figure it out it's like having insider information! LOL Must try David's trick of the mylar. Is it clear mylar or silver? Thanks again all! Most helpful bunch here.

davidr- you should check out the Inova flashlights. Well, I finally did. I was at a Target store the other day and saw an Inova Radiant on closeout at a very attractive price (not much more than the Chinese knockoffs) so I gave it a try. I have to admit that I'm impressed. I tried it with the somewhat used AA alkaline cells from one of my Maglites (I use mostly NiMH rechargeables, but keep alkalines in the ones that don't get used very often). Open circuit voltage of the AAs totaled 2.98 volts. The Inova certainly seemed significantly brighter. But how much? The bluish light that "white" LEDs emit can be a fooler. I wanted some numbers. I used my old photographic light meter to measure the relative output of the two lights. It's calibrated in unidentified units (lumens? footcandles? Lux? Ivory? ;-), from 0.2 to 1600 in two sensitivities. I measured both lights on the high scale (50-1600 whatevers). I chucked the Inova in the vise and aimed it at the meter's PV element, so that the "hot spot" covered the PV (its edges aren't very sharp, so this was approximate). It turned out that this was exactly 6" from the meter. I then chucked the Mag into the vise 6" from the meter and adjusted its beamspread to cover the PV, getting the coverage as close to the Inova's as possible. The Mag measured 300 <mumbles>, and the Inova 1600 <mumbles>. I don't know whether the light meter's scale is linear (suggesting 4x the output for the Inova), but I'm going to assume that it's pretty much colorblind. It certainly seemed to confirm what my eyes told me. I then measured the current consumed by the lights. It was almost identical - the Mag used 305ma, the Inova 308ma. Remember, this is with a somewhat used battery, just slightly below nominal voltage. Results would no doubt be different with brand new or very nearly flat cells. Thus we can safely say that the Inova's efficacy is significantly higher than the Mag's. Now, some user-level notes on the lights. The Mag is considered a top-shelf item. It's constructed of machined aluminum and is made in USA. The beamspread is adjustable. It costs about $10 (less on sale). The Inova Radiant is part of the company's budget line. It's made of polycarbonate, and is made in USA "with US and imported components" (my guess is that the LED itself is Chinese, but I don't know for sure). It costs about $20 (I paid less on closeout). I'd say the Inova is pretty solidly built for the low end of the high end. ;-) I find the bluish light color unattractive but that doesn't really hurt its utility. I miss the Mag's beamspread adjustment a bit, but it's not that big a deal. My real concern with the Inova is the switch. It has a push-on / push-off switch on the end. On other gear, I've found these switches aren't especially long-lived. Time will tell.

. I've been on a PV / battery grid-tied system for a year now. My usage was ~ 300 kWh / month winter; 175 kWh / month summer. Basic initial cost before any incentives etc was ~ 32k. I have two 10 foot square arrays; a total of 2800 watts of PV. You've got some major electrical usage going; and you obviously must provide for your daughter. I'll say that firstly; cutting your USAGE will be cheaper than supplying that energy via PV / wind / whatever. Electric stoves, water heaters are BIG users; actually anything with any kind of heating element in it is a hog. Next on the list is compressors . . . fridge / freezer / AC equipment. Buying newer ( more efficient ) fridge / freezer / AC could possibly save you a lot of usage; depending upon how old your existing stuff is. Buy by Energy rating; not doo-dads / frills . . . and buy the size you need . . no less; but no more. AC only room(s) that need it. Lighting is another area you can likely save some usage in . . . the variety / styles / sizes of fluorescents is very good now; and they produce the same amount of light with ~ 20% of the energy. They can be had in "daylight" spectrums as well. Also produce FAR less heat; which in turn can help lower your cooling costs. They also last FAR longer; usually about 10 times longer. I'm in central New York state; certainly NOT the sun capital of the world. You likely have FAR more sunshine hours . . my system has 2800 watts worth of panels . . . sized for sun here to basically provide all of my electricity in the period of a year. Get a good surplus during the summer; but run into deficit in the winter. You don't have to, but might want to consider; doing battery back-up for your medical equipment for if / when the grid goes down . . usually there is a "critical load panel" that is powered when running on batteries; so you would keep necessities on this panel . . they are also powered when the grid is up. That way; you wouldn't have to scramble to find a generator etc. You can size a battery bank for practically any load / time. Again; your sun situation is likely far better than mine here. You're not gonna end up with a cheap system by any means; but there may be some incentives for you . . . in my case they were substantial . . between NY state incentives, tax credits, and a federal tax credit; ended up paying ~ half the system cost. Your mileage may vary. You should also check with your local utility about net metering and waht the laws are there . .. some places they are not obligated to credit you ANYTHING for any power you may generate . . some places require that the utility buy it back, sometimes at above market costs; since it's "green" . . . those policies are local regional . . don't know your particulars. Again; if you're planning a new place, NOW is the time to make some choices to save energy; which will MORE than pay for themselves in terms of lowered system cost if you do so. Can't say much about wind power . . but your site can be evaluated relatively easily to see if it would be feasable and what power you would get from it. There may be some zoning / code questions with wind generation too . . or even the solar panels for that matter. Look into that before you get too well dug in . . . Good luck . . . Bob

Mdod, you may be referring to my post. What wattage are the MR16s in your cabinet? The Philips 10 watt AmbientLED MR16s at Home Depot, which are rated at 435 lumens, are a fine replacement for 50 watt halogens - at least in my application. (Wall washers. I now have six of them, with two lower priority ones to go.) Their color temp is a bit 'whiter' than the halogens and they don't dim as low. Philips actually offers both warmer and cooler color temps under their EnduraLED line. But they need to be purchased from a lighting store. It is interesting to me that the AmbientLED 3000k MR16 is rated at 435 lumens, while the seemingly identical (both have the little built-in fans) EnduraLED 3000k is rated at 485 lumens. Guess they must do some 'binning', and sell the lower bin ones to Home Depot under the AmbientLED name. There are a number of other LED MR16s around. Most draw in the neighborhood of 3-4 watts, but have much lower light output (130-200 lumens). Cost wise, they are all in the $20-35 range. The above 10 watt Philips is $25.