Going off grid means you need storage for power, and we are very excited about TESLA PowerWall, and at the news that Schnieder have a similar product coming on stream in 2017 or so. The word on the web has it Mercedes are also entering the fray which should make the sector a viable one.

To make it viable, and to make the issue more for ground up situations such as our case more than retrofits is that all the electronics in the house will have to go low power.

The kettle is out – a propane powered instant boiler is a good alternative, as is the old fashioned kettle on the range.

The lights go LED – measured in lumens which in laymans terms is the amount of light given out is the same as a regular bulb at a higher wattage – a 75 watt bulb is giving out the light of a 100 watt and soi on. The light can be harsh, but there are even soft light options coming on stream now that are set to get better in the coming years.

Sound is surprisingly the largest unseen problem – you turn up your stereo or TV, you use more watts, for the initial period it draws up to 10 times the power it uses. Your 5.1 stero system of 100W is now turned up is drawing an extra 5000 Watts for a few minutes – can your system cope? No – so downsize, and keep an eye on the new soundboxes like the ones placed under mobile phones, running on low power, giving our powerful sound on low watts, they are the stereo systems of the years to come, the hardest part is sending the signals to them.