I have never thought that solar panels were particularly feasible, except in places like the Australian outback where the sun is so intense, and the population density too low to make stringing power lines feasible.
For those who don't know, the main problem with solar panels is that they cost about 60% of their lifetime output. In other words, it takes 60% of their estimated life-span to get back the cost of buying them!
It helps if you happen to live in a very sunny part of the world, but then you have the problem of lack of arable land, generally.
Passive solar on the other hand is fairly cheap and straightforward. Solar hot water is very simple, as is a solar heat wall, which is basically a sheet of glass in front of a concrete or brick wall, with vents going in and out for convection. Ideally you have a way of turning it off--by plugging the vents and covering over the glass, in the summer!
Probably one of the most important sources of energy is growing your own fuel for lamps (you probably won't get enough for heat, unless you're already in a fairly warm climate, or have lots of woodland to work with). This is FAR easier in the tropics than in temperate climates, but basically anything that produces vegetable oils, that you can extract with a press, will work. For example before petroleum derivatives were introduced (ironically, in the same part of the world!!!!), people in the Middle East burned olive oil in their lamps.
Cotton works well for the wick. I don't know what other fibers work; that would be worth finding out. Cotton needs long, hot summers. In the old days, fiber in temperate climates came from hemp--and actually it still does in many countries other than the USA where it is illegal to grow since circa late world war 2 (and even then, the industry had been in collapse due to the invention of nylon--although it seems to me that nylon rope is not interchangeable with hemp!!). Hemp is a nice fiber by the way.
If you're in the tropics, you can just burn candlenuts! You don't even have to do anything; the nuts are so high in oil they burn as is. In Hawaii they use palm midribs as a wick.
For cooking, you have several options. One possibility is to harvest the methane off of composting manure and nonedible portions of crop plants post harvest. You can handle it and use it a lot like propane.
In some parts of the world, solar ovens are popular. Obviously this only works in weather that is actually warm and sunny enough, and during daylight hours--but it does have numerous advantages such as not heating up the house in an already tropical climate, and not requiring fuel.
I've wondered if it would be worth it to use wind and water for mechanical torque, the way they used to be used.
I would suggest using electricity sparingly, and try to get as much done through non-electrical systems as possible. As the system breaks down, you won't have as many electrical toys to play with anyway.
