Off-grid energy sources: a good way to save for your retirement

I read once an interesting opinion, that investing your money in renewable energy sources pays off mostly when you’re retired.

Why is that?

All the alternative, renewable energy sources, provide you with free energy. If the system is designed properly (for example, photovoltaic panels coupled with wind turbine), you always have enough energy to fulfill your needs. And you don’t pay for it, except for the battery change every few years.

If so, the money you spend on those devices will save you money all the time you use them. You produce your own energy and thus you don’t need to buy it from the grid. And since energy costs are not expected to drop in the forseeable future, when you’re retired, they would account for a substantial part of your retirement pension.

I don’t believe that our european pensions would be more than 30-40% of our last paycheks, so we need to save our own money for the retirement. And in my opinion one of the best ways to save is to buy something that will generate you a real income or allow you to save money on something. Alternative energy sources are a great example.