Date: Dear Fed Up Energy Consumer,

Let me guess why you’re on this page. You just got your electricity or gas bill in the mail (or, *shudder* both at the same time). You took a peak and saw enough zeroes to sink a multi-national company and you decided…

That’s it. No more.

I’m not going to pay this anymore.

Congratulations because you just took the first step in a process that millions of homeowners will never both with. You just decided you’re not going to be a pawn in the game of “count the cash” that the energy cartels play with our lives.

I know exactly where you’re coming from because I was there.

My name is Jerry Maxwell and I’m what you’d call an “average guy”. I don’t have a million dollars in the bank. I don’t bungee jump on the weekend or own a motorcycle.

I live in Alameda with my wife, two children, and faithful furry companion Mr. Jinx. I’m a happy guy because I live the dream – the one we were all taught to aspire for – to own your own home, have a happy family and go on vacation for four weeks every year.

But, there is one very big catch. I have converted my home into a full blown solar and wind powered testament to independent thinking. I’ve told the energy companies to leave me be and taken hold over my own energy consumption – something I never would have thought possible just 10 years ago.

It all started a few years back when I had my own bill shock moment. The energy costs in my state had just undergone another roller coaster increase and I was done. We were barely scraping by as is and electricity was set to increase another 18% in just one year!

Toss in the fact that my two children were getting old enough to suddenly need constant access to the Internet, video games and a dozen other electronic devices that eat energy for breakfast and I was at my wits’ end. I couldn’t afford it!

For a long time I’ve been what you’d call an insider. I’d never stoop so low as to work for these cartels, controlling people’s lives with ever increasing costs, but at the time I worked for a small company that taught people how to cut their energy use and help reduce the impact of global warming.

It got me thinking. If our goal is to reduce greenhouse gasses and help the planet, why don’t we just go all the way – cutting the cord completely and creating electricity from the most plentiful source ever created, the sun.

I did my research. I watched films and talked with coworkers. I read up on the newest solar panel technology and reviewed efficiency ratings of the newest solar collectors and wind turbines.

It turned out that this technology was advancing rapidly – so rapidly in fact that in short course we very well could replace our standard energy sources with solar and wind and it wouldn’t cost us an arm and a leg.

To be successful, I needed to take another step. I needed to actual walk the walk instead of just thinking the talk. It’s all fine and good think to yourself “I should do this” but unless you’re willing to act, why bother?

So, I acted. I started reading everything I could get my hands on. I read books about green energy, I read newspaper articles from elite scientists on global warming and solar power. I read books by politicians outlining the next steps in climate control (boring…).

Finally, I realized that something was missing. I was doing a LOT of research and none of it was showing me how to actually create my own energy and get off the grid.

Sure, there are a lot of energy products online, but let’s face it – most of them are so-so at best.

So, I dug deeper and started talking to actual experts – green energy contractors, solar panel manufacturers in Asia, and tech gurus here in the states. Turns...