With the dropping price and rising efficiency of nuclear power, I could no longer resist its amazing potential. By nuclear, of course, I'm referring to the fusion process deep within the sun generating spectacular amounts of energy that are then projected to Earth as sunshine. That other stuff is frickin' scary.

A few years ago, I read an inspiring article on Treehugger that changed my whole attitude toward solar-powered homes. I had been thinking that solar was a multi-thousand dollar commitment that required complicated wiring and hard-to-understand deals with power companies. It turns out solar is (like marriage) something you can transition to slowly as your means permit.

The original Treehugger set-up (which is based on a post from Off-Grid.net) promises to keep the initial set-up at under $600 and indeed it does:

However, when I set out to purchase all of those items, I found the reality to look more like this:

Maybe the professionals have a line on super-cheap (and discontinued?) solar products, but it was clear that their recommended gear was not going to work for me at the price suggested. I'm the kind of guy who likes to let other people make my mistakes for me (which is why I love libraries) so I became nervous when the exact system they mentioned wasn't available. I considered getting an all-in-one kit like those from Sunwize, but for $600 I would end up with a 5 watt panel and a 19 amp hour battery. If I wanted to get ripped off, I'd buy ridiculously expensive Chuck Taylor knock-offs.

Eventually, I had to bite the bullet and learn me about some solar. I bought a Kill-a-Watt monitor and went from plug to plug measuring my appliances. Then I did some reading about solar systems in general and what I could expect from the sun in my area (San Francisco). Finally, I did a lot of online research and came up with my own shopping list:

Close enough! There are some definite improvements to my own list, if I do say so myself. The obvious ones are the bigger inverter and charge controller—the latter especially important, as it will allow me to support up several more panels and batteries when I'm ready to grow. The battery is AGM (Absorption Glass Mat) which is safer and can take more punishment than the slightly old school gel batteries. Finally, the size of the panel doubled and is a size that's not discontinued. The Uni-Solar panels from the original plan are definitely the way to go, as they're light-weight, glass-free, shade-tolerant, graffiti-proof, and lots of other hyphenated descriptors.

Still on my list is a digital multimeter, because not knowing the precise number of volts here or amps there is going to drive a number-obsessed fellow like me crazy. Oh, and I need to talk to my landlord about all this... you don't think he'll mind, do you?

Update (1/20/10): It's up-and-running!