Genuine question. Have seen lots of videos of people putting just one or two solar panels in their garden, on a shed or even on a van and using tech called a grid-tie inverter to plum it into the mains electric. Its started to make me wonder if we should all do this. Just a few hundred watts each from a percentage of homes around the average town or city would surely make a dent into carbon, meaning less oil and gas were burnt.
Obviously there are people who cant afford the tech or the space, but from just looking online the inverter is a couple of hundred quid, a 2-300w solar panel is 150 quid each. Cables not much. Talking to an electrician friend most homes have fuses here that can take a maximum of 30-50amps (in and out), so if your set up is small its not going to blow the electrics out.
Thoughts?
I think its worth asking about the durability of any new installation. Indie DIY electricity generation that rusts or falls apart in bad weather isn't going to be as efficient as just signing up for Green Mountain or some other dedicated green energy producer.
One big reason why I'm not falling over myself to install giant battery packs in my garage to try and optimize my electricity consumption. The installation/maintenance just isn't going to be worth it. Especially when I live in a state (Texas, funny enough) that has some of the highest green energy productivity in the country.
But if you can find a good rig that is durable to the elements and easy to maintain... please tell me about it. I'd be curious to try it out for myself.