I work at home in an open room. When others are around, I hear the TV, I hear the kids (high school), I hear the phone calls. My wife works from home one day per week and plays the radio. In these environments, it's impossible to concentrate. I can't listen to music because it conflicts with my thought process. I can't stand ear plugs, and besides they are not effective. So I have made a file of white noise, which I set on continuous replay, and listen with my over-the-ear headphones, adjusting the volume as the surrounding noise comes and goes. Pause the noise when I do VOIP--works for me.

Regarding the grid.... Getting energy from there to here seems a problem. Isn't the problem with hydrogen fuel cells the fact that you have to have hydrogen in the first place (which takes energy?) I don't know the efficiencies lost via conversion (which would include the economics of transportation), but if solar or wind power was used to generate hydrogen, couldn't the hydrogen then be delivered to where it is needed, for use when wanted?