We had a little extra when we bought the house so I had a 16k installed because I was doing a lot of work from home and we didnt have a wood stove yet. Money well spent in my opinion. Solar panels are in the 5 year plan but if you dont have the battery packs to store the juice you your just as much in the dark as the rest of the neighborhood. If the power from the solar panels goes back into the grid it could kill some power line work.