Answering random Redditor’s questions with professional backup: home solar edition
Answering random Redditor’s questions with professional backup: home solar edition

Earlier this week, a home solar shopper took to Reddit looking for a home solar panel + home backu battery system that could intelligently manage solar and grid power, auto switch in a power outage, and accept ICE generator input in a prolonged grid po…

Gary, Indiana is a warning: energy independence has gotten personal
Gary, Indiana is a warning: energy independence has gotten personal

Nearly two weeks after a summer derecho knocked out power, tens of thousands of people in Gary, Indiana were still without power, with many taking to social media to highlight the reality of living through a prolonged blackout. While the utility made e…

Not sold on Tesla Powerwall? There are some great home battery alternatives out there
Not sold on Tesla Powerwall? There are some great home battery alternatives out there

Between increasingly extreme weather, rising electricity demands, and the rapid expansion of data centers, energy independence is starting to look less like a talking point for doomsday preppers and more like sound planning. That shift in thinking is d…

A month after Congress killed the solar tax credit, the industry is anything but dead
A month after Congress killed the solar tax credit, the industry is anything but dead

America’s 250th birthday on July 4th marked the last day to “safe harbor” a new solar project and still get the 30% solar tax credit – a milestone that many feared would mean the death of home solar. 28 days (ish) later, though, the industry is anythin…

New normal? The US has suffered a major power outage EVERY month of 2026
New normal? The US has suffered a major power outage EVERY month of 2026

A Reddit post making the rounds this week claims the US has experienced at least one major power outage every month of 2026 – but is it true? I dug into several outages, the extreme weather behind them, and what we can do to help keep the lights on.

Portable power: new Mitsubishi eK Cross pairs 1500 W plug with sub-$12K price
Portable power: new Mitsubishi eK Cross pairs 1500 W plug with sub-$12K price

Mitsubishi’s Kei-class eK Cross gets a mild facelift for the 2027 model year that combines a body-color front fascia and updated interior tech to give it a fresh look – but the big news is a new 100 V AC power outlet that can draw up to 1500 Watts.

California VPP is rolling out a $6,000 rebate for new home batteries
California VPP is rolling out a $6,000 rebate for new home batteries

Ava Community Energy’s SmartHome Battery program is offering income-qualified North California residents up to $6,000 in up front incentive cash to install a FranklinWH smart battery and connect it to the utility’s virtual power plant (VPP).

Home solar in rural America: a storm just took out your power, now what?
Home solar in rural America: a storm just took out your power, now what?

There’s no shortage of advice on how to size a home solar and battery system, but most of it assumes a suburban home with city services and outages measured in hours, not days. Rural homes play by different rules, especially during summer storms. When …

CT keeps home solar incentive alive through 2035, batteries are the big winners
CT keeps home solar incentive alive through 2035, batteries are the big winners

A new bill extending home and community solar incentive programs has passed both houses of the Connecticut Senate, and just needs Governor Ned Lamont’s signature to make it into law. It’s taken us a while to parse through it, but one thing is clear: ba…

Pine Point Schools cuts the ribbon on new, 2.7 MWh microgrid project
Pine Point Schools cuts the ribbon on new, 2.7 MWh microgrid project

The Pine Point School district serving Minnesota’s White Earth Reservation community has taken a huge step towards energy independence this month, with the commissioning of a new solar + BESS microgrid project that will help insulate the district from …