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 ...

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 ...

Solar panels can only generate electricity; they can’t store it, so you must pair them with a stand-alone battery bank or a power station. For home emergency power (for a few hours of power), we ...

Solar panel systems can cost tens of thousands of dollars, and most people can't pay that much in cash upfront. Here's how to get solar-specific financing. Installing solar panels can be a game ...