It seems ironic that essential services are often provided to people at a high cost. Although this is the 21st century, water and electricity still cannot be taken for granted, even if you live in an economically advanced country.

As this tongue-in-cheek quote aptly puts it, “The electric bill won't give you a fright, if only you remember to turn off the light.” Yes, if only!

Solar and wind power technologies rely on natural resources, and therein lies the renewable energy industry’s blessing and bane. If sunlight and wind are free and infinite, they are also inconsistent resources subject to the climate and weather vagaries.

One of the reasons why mass deployment of solar power still remains a distant goal is that most solar panels use lithium-ion batteries, which are expensive, harmful to the environment, and come with the added risk of fires and explosions due to overheating.

For the first time, a safer, cheaper, and more durable alternative to lithium ion batteries has been developed in the form of zinc energy based storage systems.

A government-owned energy company in Queensland, Australia — a country with one of the highest rates of household solar energy use in the world — launched a year-long trial Monday of two U.S.-made solar battery storage systems as part of an investigation into how the company can reward users less reliant on its grid system.

There are three main types of residential solar electric power systems: grid inter-tied; grid inter-tied with battery backup; and off-grid. These three broad types vary in how closely connected they are to the traditional power utility infrastructure, known as the grid. Each type has strengths that determine how suited they are to your needs.