Some energy-efficient alternatives to traditional household loads... Refrigerators
Conventional units consume 2-5 kWh/day, four to seven times as much as the most energy efficient models. Efficient electric refrigerators are available that consume up to 80% less power. Propane refrigerators are quite popular and relatively inexpensive to operate.

Space heating
Renewable electricity can not be used to generate electricity for electric space heating! Forced air circulation systems, due to their high wattage blower, consume a lot of power and are not all practical.  It’s common to use wood heat along with a few direct-vent propane heaters as backup. Passive solar heat is an option. Radiant-floor heating systems, which use relatively low power circulators, are compatible with residential solar thermal (solar hot water) systems.

Lighting
Compact fluorescent lighting generates four times the amount of useable light as incandescent lighting for the same amount of wattage (15-watt c.f. = 60-watt incandescent), and they have an extremely long lifetime!  These lightbulbs can easily be found at your local hardware or home store.

Water heating
Renewable electricity can not be used to generate electricity for electric water heating! Propane is the most likely choice, perhaps in combination with an active solar hot water system (thermal solar system) as backup.

Clothes washing
Please note that energy efficient washing machines are preferable. To maximize efficiency at a solar electric house, commonly laundry is done while the generator is charging or excess power is available from the batteries (i.e. when the batteries are full in the middle of a sunny day). If a clothes dryer is used, a gas model is much more cost-effective than an electric model.

Cooking
Microwaves are acceptable is most cases, but again a propane range will probably be the method of choice.

Water pumping
There are many things to consider, but generally the pump must not be over-sized, and wiring, plumbing, and water storage must be selected with care.  AC and DC pumps are both practical, but choices must be made on a case-by-case basis.  A gravity-fed source may eliminate the need for a water pump altogether.

The majority of off-the-grid homes use only 10-15% of the power consumed by typical utility fed home. For most people considering renewable power, financial necessity will mandate extreme energy efficiency. But it can and is done every day by people just like you, without sacrificing comfort or convenience, and that is our ultimate goal.