Saving energy in the home will result in financial savings but needs to be prioritized in order of importance. The financial equation of energy saved against the investment in the energy saving technology needs to be compared.

Saving money is the primary motive behind energy efficiency. Improving one’s carbon footprint is also a significant benefit.

All energy efficiency requires investment. The payback on the investment needs to be carefully worked out, taking into account not only the electrical savings and the financial benefits of the savings, but also the capital cost and the loss of income from the funds invested into the energy efficient technology. Generally, the payback on energy efficiency will significantly outperform the returns from the money if invested.

If concentrating on efficiency first before taking the last step which is Solar Power. A further saving on cost can be seen as the load has been considerably reduced for day and night time consumption. So if battery back-up is also needed this will bring a further saving as the amount of batteries needed for back-up is also reduced due to the load reduction.

Pricing in any of these options should not play a factor in deciding which system or make is better. Reliability and peace of mind does cost more than usual as it adds to the initial cost but also saves you more in the long run on maintenance and failures due to under sized or poorly installed systems.