Oddly enough solar panels actually work better in winter as long as they're kept clear enough to absorb light. ------------------ I actually have a larger post elsewhere on various steps people are taking to cut living costs and boost home efficiency. - LED lighting is a big easy step everyone can do to cut down electrical usage. - Use fireplaces and Wood burning stoves. - Electric in floor heating. - Replace HVAC with a Geo-system. - Spray foam insulation. - Wife and kids growing a sizable vegetable garden. - Putting in fruit & nut yielding trees if you're able. - Chicken coops are becoming popular again even in suburb areas. - Spending a weekend hunting deer, elk, or hog to supplement the food budget. In cold regions coal furnaces are even making a comeback. Because the modern ones are sealed and do not dump soot in the air. And that coal is far cheaper and safer than heating oil & propane. When placed throughout a house, Wood burning stoves that vent everything outside is another way to cut costs. Because you can burn some really shit grade wood, such as non-coated pallets, and even charcoal. My township provides free untreated mulch to us from all the trees trimmed or even cut down. Some people are already burning it. ------------------ Plasma Gasification is another technology that's not being used in the US and it should be. We can turn our actual trash into electricity and use the left over slag to build roads.