One of the best examples of "off-grid" is RVs. If you are the adventurous type and hate parking in a campground to connect to grid power then solar power is the way to go.

A friend of mine recenly sold his house and bought a 40' motor coach to live in. In the beginning he went to visit friends, running a long extension cord from the house to the street where he parked. Well the intrusion plus the guilt of "stealing" power soon got to him. He then choose to stay in campgrounds and RV parks to connect, so he did not have to run his generator that long. This too began to bug him since he got an RV to get away.

His RV his fully equipped, satellite TV, satellite high speed Internet, and all the other bells and whistles of a normal home. Compounding the issue was the fact that this was also his office. He is a computer programmer that required him to have his computer on all day. Being a programmer he has multiple monitors to make the work-flow easier. This RV was sucking down some power.

He was buying some things at an RV store and spied some solar panels. The light bulb went off and soon he was the proud owner of 455 watts of solar power. This has greatly decreased his need to run the generator as well as eliminated his need to stay in an RV park. He added a couple extra batteries for storage and as they say, "Life is Good!!!"

Solar power has been in use in RVs for quite some time now. Most RV stores offer kits specifically for RVs and the staff is usually well educated to answer any questions you may have. Adding solar power to your home away from home can be a blessing in disguise.