About Hack My Homestead

Our Mission is to help fellow homesteaders by providing practical and accessible ideas with easy to follow instructions.

Shawn Mills has worked in and around the power generation industry since 2000 and decided shortly after the Great Recession to build a lifestyle that was more self-sufficient.  He has lived on his off grid homestead with his wife and two children since 2012 utilizing solar pv and rainwater catchment systems he designed and installed himself.

In 2017 Shawn started a consultation company hackmysolar.com to help others demystify solar and other alternative energy systems and implement them in their own lives.  His customers have included new construction projects, remote hunting properties, and exiting homes and outbuildings with a variety of installation types.  Shawn’s designs are based on customer’s overall goals and a holistic view of energy use AND cost of implementation where sometimes the “appropriate” answer is generator and gasoline rather than newer and more expensive technology. 

In 2022 Shawn expanded the scope of his business to include off grid living, appropriate technology, and homestead automation design.  His primary expertise is in solar thermal, solar photo-voltaic, and rainwater catchment systems and the cost effective implementation of those systems.