OFF-GRID: means you are on your own: there is no connection to the power company. The only way to accomplish this in a setting where you want electricity even when the sun is not shining, is to incorporate batteries into your system. Thus off-grid homes have no power poles running to them, and draw the power they need from deep cycle battery banks. GRID·TIED: the Alternative “Grid-tied,” by contrast, means that your house is connected to the grid, and you are still set up to buy your power from the …