Are there portable wind turbines and/or solar panels I can put up in my very bright dusty back yard?
You probably can’t get anything that properly powers your house because that would need to connect to the grid, but there are small solar arrays you can get for stuff like camping or boats which could probably power some devices. Might have to be via a battery as I suspect the output is variable.
So a camping set up moving to a battery that I can charge smaller things like phones off of?
Check out “solar generators”. They take input power from something variable like a solar panel, recharge their internal battery, and then provide lots of different outlets to power or recharge various devices. So, mostly “just” a battery, but very well set up for exactly this kind of thing.
I’ve been really happy with our electric Makita products. When our propane generator kicks it (and I’m pretty sure I can keep that thing running for the next thirty, but I want a solar generator sooner) I want a Makita solar generator
You can have a switch such that you use “Shore Power” / the grid when your batteries are low and your batteries when they are full.
For anyone interested: I absolutely do not recommend as a DIY project, hire an electrician. You will kill yourself by stopping your heart or burn your house down. Or both. At the same time.
I’ve heard this described as an island switch (making your home an island, cut off from the rest of the grid). I don’t think it’s appropriate for renting though, you’d surely need to make permanent alterations to the house’s electrical circuits.
