Direct solar power
Introduction
Common solar power setups include four elements: solar panels, charge controller, inverter, and a battery pack. Out of these, the batteries are the ones that will need replacing sooner than the other components. Additionally, the more frequent replacement of the batteries also relies on fossil fuel to produce the equipment needed for the solar power setup. The batteries end up being the most costly component of the setup, and also the component with the largest fossil fuel footprint.
We can move away from using batteries though a combination of optimizing the energy consumers in our house to only consume energy during the daytime (or when the sun shines on the panels) and a shift in our mentality away from "infinitely available" energy.
LOW←TECH MAGAZINE describes how the author has moved to using direct solar power for their home [1]. Their article serves as the basis for this article.