[owly]

Storage of energy can take many forms other than batteries. For example if you are on a well as I am, additional pressure tanks can store pressurized water when the sun is shining (or wind is blowing) so you don't have to draw grid power when it's not.
Heat and cold are easy to store and cheap to store. Put in several hot water heaters, well insulated, and when you have power, heat water. Likewise engineered fluids are capable of storing large amounts of energy due to "heat of fusion". It takes many many times more energy to make the transition from solid to liquid or liquid to solid than what is required merely to raise water one degree F. We are all familiar with "blue ice". There are other fluids engineered to freeze and thaw at various favorable temps. Run your refrigeration system when you have power from your home system to freeze an engineered fluid. That fluid could greatly reduce the grid power usage of your refrigeration system.
Refrigeration and air conditioning are the largest power usages in your home........ and of course electric water heaters, and electric heating systems. (go to gas...it's a lot cheaper).
My monthly power bill runs about $35.00, and would be significantly cheaper if I didn't run 7 27" computer monitors in my stock trading system.
We all know the value of insulation, and of good windows, as well of properly shading windows to block thermal energy in the summer and allow it in in cold weather. Lots of natural lighting, windows and solar tubes............but most folks are working during the day, and home at night. Battery power and LED strip lighting makes sense for lighting, particularly if you have sensors that turn lights on when people are present in the room. It doesn't take much battery storage to handle lighting issues, and LED strips are typically 12V, and adhesive. They come in a reel and are inexpensive. Would make good indirect room lighting.

A penny saved is a penny earned............. The engineered fluids I mentioned earlier work for storing heat.......... Imagine having a container in the trunk of your car with a system that allowed exhaust heat to be used to melt an engineered "fluid" that "froze" at 150 deg F.............. Driving to work and back, you would capture wasted energy from your car............ Pack or pump into the home heating system and that waste heat could heat your home in the winter. Instead of worrying about MPG, worry about total dollars spent on transportation and heating............ Who really cares where the savings is?? 80% of our gasoline energy is going to waste......... as heat. Does it make sense to pump heat into the atmosphere and then burn gas or electricity to heat our homes?

Then there are a host of ways we can use solar heat energy directly........ from heating water to cooking food..............

Howard