What kind of decisions do I have to make? There are several avenues one can take. If you would like to prepare for the next black out  such as the one that took place in Northeastern , Midwestern United States, and Ontario, Canada on Thursday, August 14, 2003, at approximately 4:15 pm., then now’s the time to do it.

There are a couple of different choices,

1. Install solar panels on your roof to feed back to the grid and get paid for the power,

2. Install solar panels on your roof for supplemental power to offset your energy cost in your own home,

3. Battery backup for complete separation from you power suppliers grid

They all have their benefits. The first choice is the one I am looking at and mixing in with the second choice. In the United States the laws vary from state to state as they may also from province to province in Canada. I am going to use Ontario in this example.

In Ontario, if you wish to supply power back to the grid, a second meter is installed to track this and you will receive payment for the energy you supply. You will still receive a regular Hydro bill.

If we get another black out as I previously mentioned and it can happen, the grid supplied system will not give you any energy to allow your house to run. It is strictly to help the province take the load off the power plants and for the home owner to make a few bucks. This comes in handy for retirement time.

The second option allows you to hook Solar Power into your own home and greatly reduce your energy consumption from the grid supplier. This option does not get you paid from the Ontario Green Act. If you produce more energy than you use then at best you will receive a credit on you Hydro bill.

Option 3, depending on the electrical hookup into your home, can either offset your hydro bill or supply you with power in case of a complete blackout. This may be the best option but also the most expensive.

Before making decisions about which approach you use, you need to make your home energy efficient. The easiest and foremost is lighting. The following link is a very informative page on lighting. Save on lighting.