Imagine if your house could get all of its energy for heating, cooling, and cooking from batteries that never require changing. Imagine, then that these batteries were cheap and as reliable as the sun. Well, thanks to advances in technology, and the use of photovoltaic solar panels, its not a dream - it really can be done. It is possible to build a system that not only utilised the suns energy but can even work when there is no sun. By converting some of the suns energy to hydrogen, the element that makes up 75 % of the sun's composition, its possible to then store this hydrogen for use in cloudy weather.

Photovoltaic solar panels and a stored hydrogen system can easily be retrofitted to an existing home, and many people believe that this will become a model for most modern homes in the near future. The system requires solar panels, storage batteries, hydrogen electrolyzer, generator, and tanks. Now this all sounds expensive and complex but it's not, and it's worth remembering that the end product is free electricity .. for life!

The system basically works like this. The photovoltaic solar panels absorb sunlight, converting its energy into electricity. During the sunny months, this electricity heats, cools, powers appliances, fills the hot water tank, and provides energy to cook. At the same time, though, 60 % of the electricity is diverted to an electrolyzer that pulls hydrogen from water. This hydrogen is stored in tanks, and when energy from the stored hydrogen is needed, the hydrogen flows to a fuel cell where it is converted back into electricity. Clean, simple, and very efficient.