I have actually talked about two technologies that I just realized could get us off the grid entirely, if they actually pan out. One is the Bloom Box and the other is Dan Nocera’s photolysis procedure.
The latter can take sunlight and create hydrogen and oxygen, which can then be stored. Later, when the sun has gone down, the hydrogen and oxygen can be fed through the Bloom Box to make electricity. And recreate the water that was originally split into the gases.
This is also carbon neutral, with no carbon dioxide being produced.
We are a ways from real commercialization of these two technologies, particularly in the home. But they both use relatively cheap and abundant materials, so costs may get much lower quite soon. And with increasing electricity costs, the entire affair, including solar panels, might pay for itself fairly quickly. Especially if you generate enough electricity to send some back to the grid.
[Listening to: Young Man Blues from the album "Thirty Years Of Maximum R&B (Disc 2)" by The Who]
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