It's fantastic that everyone here is sharing articles and information.
What I really, really want to figure out is how to adapt my home both for efficiency and alternative energy sources. I know that people will suggest that we add more insulation to our house, add a ground-source heat pump, and so on...
These are all great ideas, but I'm trying to put them all together and it always seems to require a bespoke solution.
Of course every situation and geographical location are different. But there should still be a standard for a household system, that can: accommodate solar panels and wind generators, batteries (a little, or a lot), and connection to the grid (or not).
Ontario, Canada had a generous Feed In Tariff (FIT) program that paid generous amounts for energy fed into the grid by residential solar. I was not in a position to take advantage of this AND I wanted the option to first charge local batteries before selling the surplus to the grid.
We need better off-the-shelf solutions for people that want to power their homes with renewables while remaining connected to the grid without each person needing to explore individual solutions.
To my knowledge, most of the big names in traditional PV "string" inverters have a hybrid/battery option configurable for backup power or self-usage with varying degrees of control. Lots are even configurable for efficiency with time based electricity cost fluctuations.