Solar Power

Making Light Work (Literally)

We considered two approaches to solar. We talked to several potential providers.  Potential, because not everyone who says they are in solar is about solar.  We could only find tow whole house systems we thought wecould trust. One was hyper focused on commiting us to their platform by interruping all of our house wiring. That would make us completely dependent. The other, EcoFlow, is packaged as a portable system, but scalable to whole house capacity. From their we worked with TopNotch Electricians to build a sub-grid for critical systems to be powered bye the EcoFlow system. We added EcoFlow’s SmartHome Panel II to our home, and powered it from a connection to our main panel for grid feed. EcoFlow allows us to plug in solar panels at another port as well as a gas-powered generator if we need one to a third port,  Smart Home Panel II manages the batteries prioritizing solar and the grid. We like it because it’s modular and scaleable. The primary concern now is that it still requires an occasional connection to the internet.  Our approach allows us to search for other systems to take on other tasks that are made in the US. 

Powering a Life with Less Plug and More Purpose

You don’t need a thousand watts to light up your homestead. We’ve powered fridges, pumps, laptops, and lights with small-scale setups cobbled together with research, hard won panels, electricians and a lot of trial and error. This part of the site is where we dig into what works, what failed, and how to make solar doable on any budget.

Field Notes from the Power Source

Panels, Projects & Off-Grid Problem Solving

From system overviews to wiring tips, battery maintenance to why your inverter’s making that weird sound—this is the down-to-earth guide to solar living, straight from our own setup. We share what we’ve learned, what we wish we’d known, and what we’d do differently next time.

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We’re Ken and Linda, tinkering, planting, preserving, and sometimes failing gloriously. Join our weekly notes for real-world tips on growing food, living off-grid, and making do with what you’ve got. No fluff—just dirt-under-the-nails honesty.