With the advancements in car batteries for electric cars manufacturers are now building systems that when charged with solar panels and wind power can be used to power your home at night. Already Australia is installing these systems that are tied back into the grid and can be used during peak power usage in the community and also to power homes at night.
The cost is not something the average home owner can afford without incentives but in many cases this technology can be used today to power homes that are both on grid and off grid.
Previously if you had a Solar Panel System on your home you would either collect and feed back your power to the electric grid while you were at work and then purchase power at night or you would install deep cycle lead acid batteries which are also expensive but do not have the same capacity.
Lithium Batteries that are being used in Electric Cars are now large enough that the size of the battery storage unit can be acceptable in most homes. They also are sealed and do not require maintenance until they need to be replaced.
The batteries can produce 5kwatt continuous voltage and store 13kwatts of storage which is more than enough for light normal use.
You will still need to use energy conservation techniques such as washing clothes during the day if you have a big family and cooking with gas vs electric but livability is a primary concern.
The best thing about the systems being installed in Australia is that the country as a whole has great conditions for Solar Electric. Australia is actually one of the largest users of Electric and Solar Electric.
Unfortunately use of electric at night requires a battery backup and this solution should provide what people need.
In addition to the battery units it would be advisable to also install wind generation systems that can reduce the load somewhat during the overnight.
Secondary battery systems and Generator Backup is also advised and companies are providing full solutions to their customers.
If you are in Australia you may have heard about this technology already. If not contact your local power company and find out what incentives they might offer to complete your install.