While installing a full solar generation system looks to be complicated, expensive, and probably insufficient, there may be more ad-hoc things we can do to reduce our dependence on the evil, 60%-fossil-fuel-burning, unreliable grid.
For example, we could replace our 1.3kWh/day mains-powers fridge with a solar fridge, which is designed to run off a battery charged by one solar panel. We could keep the milk cool in a power cut, but also cut about 5% off our power bill.
I might be able to make or buy a solar charger, mount a small panel on the roof, and a USB hub inside for daylight charging of phones, tablets, and speakers.
Charging laptops is more problematic, although there are chargers for those too...
During a power cut, water isn't pumped to the tank, so tap water rapidly runs out. There is a tap to the water-main downstairs, where we can fill up a bottle for cooking, etc. But showering is a problem - unless we install a solar shower on the roof - there are cheap portable camping showers that we could directly fill from the downstairs tap, but also more fancy installed ones.
These are mostly small, independent things that we could try out progressively at relatively low cost. They could be useful for emergencies, but also if they turned out to be generally practical, would reduce our use of the grid and thus our carbon shoe size...
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