Wind Power: Saving The Environment, One Kilowatt At A Time

More of us than ever are concerned with both protecting the environment and our wallets. People used to think that using alternative energies would simply be too costly to ever be practical, but with the rising costs of energy, many are starting to change their position.

The cost of installing a wind generator is a lot less than you may think and it quickly pays for itself by saving you a lot of money on your electricity bill. There are also a variety of incentive programs to encourage people to switch to alternative energies. These programs may allow you to be reimbursed for part of the cost of installing your wind generator.

There are programs offered by states and even some cities which can help you to save on the cost of doing the right thing for the planet. A wind generator will more than pay for itself over time anyway. Other than the savings you’ll see on your electric bill, you can sell any surplus energy to your local utility!

Electricity suppliers are required to buy the extra energy generated by consumers who use wind generators and other alternative energy sources who produce more than they can use. You’ll be doing your part by powering your home with clean energy and by selling the excess to your local utility; you’re also supplying clean renewable energy to other households in your area![youtube:UQWf_-OEHOw;[link:DIY wind power generators];http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQWf_-OEHOw&feature=related]

You are also making some money while doing it so it is truly a win-win situation for everyone involved. And if you are worried about whether or not you will be able to efficiently install the wind generators, do not worry. There are many step-by-step instructions available out there. It is a pretty simple job and as long as you are installing it all on the top of your house, you will be able to capture as much wind as possible.

What about a back up plan? If you live somewhere where they can be times of very little wind, you can fall back on the utility company. Simply do not disconnect your hook up to the electric company just in case you ever need to fall back on them. This will ensure that you are never left without the electricity you need to run your home in a safe and pleasurable way.

This does not mean that you are not truly making a difference though. Every day that you are able to run your home off of wind power, that is one day you are not using the energy produced by the electric company. Of course, the large the wind turbine you install, the more wind you will be able to capture and turn into usable energy within your home.

You can start small with your wind power system. There’s no need to buy the largest wind turbine available right off the bat. Buy something you can afford and upgrade later on when you’re ready to produce green, clean energy for yourself and to sell to your utility company.

Learn how to build some residential wind turbines for you home and save cash on your electric bill. Making your own wind power generators may save you hundreds on the cost of buying one at the store as well and still make lots of power.

Solar Panels, Go Green Now

Do You Want To Lighten Your Carbon Footprint?

How about you, would you install a Solar Energy System if, you thought you could not only save money but, get a lot of other benefits as well? There is a lot of talk out there, about Solar and Wind Power but, nobody seems to have made it Affordable. What other ways can you see to cut down on the usage of fossil fuel?

During this present decline in Real Estate values, you may have thought about what you could do to make your house easier to sell. Hopefully selling at this time isn’t a concern of yours but, even so, you might want to consider how much more your home would bring if, the new owner didn’t have to be dependent on the electric company. Just think, how excited your Real Estate broker could get about listing a house that has it own Alternative Energy System all ready installed.

Thanks to the new Administration in Washington ,the government seems to be taking a totally different path on the issue of stopping Global Warming and fostering the use of solar panels and wind power. Consequently there are new incentives from both State and Federal levels. Many changes are coming and new ideas are surfacing. This is due to an innovative approach of how to make use of the fine minds of our upcoming generation which, will soon be the leaders of our wonderful country.

At last, installing our own Alternative Energy Source is definitely realistic. It is an opportunity for all of us to help preserve this life for ourselves, as well as for our children and all future generations. The best option for acquiring a self contained energy system for our homes at a very reasonable cost is to get the plans and do it yourself. Although it may seem difficult at first to build your own system, it really isn’t. You should be able to build it on a weekend.

Want to find out more about How to find the Best plans for Building Your Own Alternative Energy Source, then visit Johnny McKay’s site and also get the Free Report “Is Global Warming a Hoax?

Have You Considered Making Your Own Home Wind Turbine Design?

When one thinks of a home wind turbine, what most probably comes to mind is a gigantic tower with jumbo-jet sized spinning blades. But, with everyone becoming more aware of conserving energy, the technology has advanced so much that it is now possible to have your own small-scale wind turbine at home. Even better is the opportunity for us to make our own, without having to rely on the professionals.

How a home wind turbine works

A home wind turbine makes power by spinning a generator. The generator is attached to the rotor, made up of three aerodynamic blades, that is then attached to a tower. To keep the turbine facing the wind, the rotor has a tail, that acts as a weather vain.

The generator is basically an electric motor. As the coils in the motor spin past the magnets, an electric current is produced. The power produced is stored in batteries, which are connected to an inverter to change the direct current to alternating current, which can then be used to power your home. The advancement of motor efficiency, is the reason wind turbines have become so popular for home use.

Depending on your area’s wind conditions, the tower can vary in length. If you live near the sea where it is windy, the tower can be shorter, but in low-wind areas the tower needs to be taller to catch as much wind possible.

With more money being put into research, the blades have changed drastically over the years. The rotors generally have 3 instead in of 5 blades now, since the blades have become lighter, stronger, and able to spin in very light breezes. The blades also come an assortment of diameters, according to the average wind speeds and energy needs.

Up until now I have been talking about your average horizontal axis home wind turbine. But there is also another design taking off. It is a wind turbine that spins on the vertical axis. Also know as a VAWT (vertical axis wind turbine), this generator’s blades resemble some type of water-wheel on its side. The problem with the VAWT is that it spins rather close to the ground, making it unable to catch the stronger, higher up winds, so it is not a good option for residential home-owners. Also when erected in open areas, the blades are large and spin so fast birds do not see them and fly straight into them – which is not very eco-friendly.

What you need to know before you buy a home wind turbine:

Size of your property:

Wind turbines generally operate better in large areas that cover an acre. This is because wind flow is not deflected by any nearby buildings.

How windy is it where you live?

Ideal wind conditions should be at least 11 mph, but otherwise a taller tower with larger blades will help to catch the high-altitude winds.

Other uses for the wind turbine:

Can you think of other ways to use the wind turbine? For example many farmers still use them as a vital part of their irrigation systems.

Does my house need a constant power supply?

This is why so many people want to get a small wind turbine in the first place – to keep the house powered during blackouts, and prevent economic losses. Although the wind turbine may not power the house all the time, it’s stored power can be used in emergencies, when the utilities are just not enough.

Answering these questions will give you a good idea of how much power you need, how big the tower a blades need to be, and how much it would be worth investing to start making your own power at home.

The great thing about technology is that it is always improving. So much so that motors have become smaller, efficient and cheap enough for us to attach a few small turbines right on the roof, and produce the same power as a larger turbine on a tall tower.

Although professional home wind turbines can run into several thousands of dollars, it is possible to make your own for a tenth of the price, with components found at home and your local hardware store. Furthermore, the U.S. offers both state and federal tax credits that you can use to offset the installation cost. So not only will you reduce your electricity bill, but also your tax at the same time.

Forget about using the home made energy guide to make your own power at home! Try the Earth4Energy Instructions for free, and see how you can cut your power costs by up to 80% with your own home wind turbine and solar power.

The Truth About The Homemade Energy Guide

Homemade Energy – a guide written by Bill Ford, a scientist, researcher and energy consultant – claims that it can show you how to build your own working home solar and wind power generators, even if you have never picked up a tool in your life before. So does it really work? And are the instructions as easy to follow as they claim to be? We put bought it, put it to the test and saw how it compared to Earth4Energy.

The Advantages of the guide:

1 – It was an enjoyable experience:

Since the instructions for the wind turbine were so well laid out, everything went smoothly, and we really enjoyed putting the windmill together. The end result looks so professional as well!

2 – Very Affordable

Homemade Energy is the cheapest guide out there. Okay, it is only $2 cheaper than say, Earth4Energy, but every dollar helps when you are trying to save on costs.

3 – Easy for anyone to follow:

It is obvious that Bill Ford wanted to write a guide that even a housewife could follow. The language was really easy to understand, and the instructions made it almost impossible for you not to end up with a working wind turbine. This was despite the fact that the diagrams were a little confusing at times.

The Problems With the guide:

1 – Rather short

Homemade Energy was on of the shorter guides we read. It was only about 43 pages long, so it seemed to lack some value-added information. If you compare it to a guide like Earth4Energy or Efficient Planet, we would rather have spent that extra $2 to get all that additional advice and information.

2 – Becoming a little outdated:

We’re not sure about other users, but we occasionally struggled to follow the solar power plans easily. The diagrams did not quite flow with the instructions and we had to contact support numerous times for assistance when building the solar panels. Although they were very helpful, they never decided to pass on that knowledge to everyone by updating their guide with the additional solar panel information. Bill Ford offers free lifetime updates, but what good is that if he never revises his guide?

Conclusion:

Overall, Homemade Energy was a great guide for people with little technical knowledge, that are willing to learn while building the systems. I only recommendations for Mr Ford is that he keeps up with the other guides, such as Earth4Energy and Homemade Power Plant, and offer more free advice for his readers. This includes throwing in some free video tutorials and revising his solar power plans.

Tim McDonald has been making his own home wind turbine and solar power since June 2008. If you are serious about making your own power, reducing your electricity bill and becoming more energy conscious, then he recommends you get the Earth4Energy Sneak Peek – before buying any energy guide.

Efficient Planet Review – Does It Really Work?

Summary

Efficient Planet is a comprehensive set of diy energy instructions. It’s not just one book, it’s three. It contains 50 pages on efficient living, 51 pages on building your home wind turbine, and 71 pages on making your solar power at home. It would have been the best guide on the market, but it fell short of Earth4Energy by not providing free video instruction.

What we like about it:

1 – Complete step-by-step plans:

Efficient Planet is by far the most complete and content-rich renewable energy guide available. It has over 175 pages of simple, easy to follow plans and recommendations, and is definitely value for money at a price of $49.97.

2 – Additional free gifts

The Efficient Planet e-book comes with a number of useful free bonuses. This includes a 50 page guide on easy ways to reduce your power bill (valued at $49.97); and multimedia interviews with successful homeowners that have made their own home solar and wind power systems.

Additional, but irrelevant bonus items included is: ‘Project Wealthy’ – a kit that teaches you everything about running your own efficient home business. And what they call “Undisclosed bonuses”.

3 – Solid Advice:

A nice feature of the guide, is that it is broken up into 3 parts:

The first one is devoted to teaching you about solar power and how to make your own solar panels at home. But it also goes on to discuss the various types of solar you can employ at home, including solar heating, and solar roofing.

The second part provides step-by-step instructions, with diagrams on how to make your own home wind generator. It also goes to talk about the 10 false rumors about wind power, and how to use it effectively at home.

The third book explains a variety of clever ways to become more energy efficient without sacrificing your quality of living. Although most of the tips we already knew, some of them we didn’t. But it really rounded off the whole Efficient Planet package, and helped it achieve it purpose of showing you how to save power and money at home.

Problem With The Guide

1: No video instruction

Just when we thought Efficient Planet was the best energy guide on the market, we realized it has absolutely no video instruction. Many people that are technology inclined will struggle to just follow the written plans and diagram to build their first solar or wind power system. It would have been so much easier if we could watch it being built step-by-step.

2: Just another DIY energy guide

The Efficient Planet instructions seem very similar to what you get in other diy energy guides. But since the plans actually work, I guess it does not make any them any worse than the other guides. Furthermore, this guide is great value for money with all the complementary gifts you get with it. And that is why I preferred it to Homemade Energy or Homemade Power Plant.

Verdict:

Efficient Planet is a comprehensive set of advice and instruction on enjoying efficient living at home. Yes, this guide will eventually show the average Joe how to build a working solar and wind power system, but like the other energy guides out there, it lacks the video instruction that Earth4Energy provides. The bonuses make it great value for money, so it gets our #2 rating overall.

Tim McDonald is an enthusiastic DIYer that has been living off the grid since June 2008. He recommends you Try Earth4Energy for FREE if you are serious about making your own solar and home wind turbine, saving bucket loads of cash on your electricity bill, and living a greener life.

Wind Power: Good For The Environment, Great For Your Wallet

There seems to be a lot of people who are finally starting to see all of the various reasons for generating wind power for our electrical needs. With all of the environmental damage that comes from the power plants that are creating energy, it is important that people start to stand up and take action.

Unless people start realizing how important their planet is and the resources within it is, the situation will only get worse and worse. Now is the time for a major chance and you can start by taking a look into wind power. By installing wind generators, people are able to power their homes without having to count on the power plants for everything.

You can usually generate all of the power you need this way. However, you shouldn’t call the electric company to cut you off. It’s good to have a backup source of electricity for those times when your wind generators aren’t producing enough electricity to power your home all by themselves.

If during the extremely windy times you find that you are generating more energy then you can make use of in your home, you are able to sell it to the electric companies for them to make use of. Now, this is not going to make you enough money to stop working but it is enough to make it worth your time. Plus, you are helping to encourage clean renewable energy instead of using the other sources.

Now you have seen that it can be extremely good for the environment, it is time to see why it is worth your time. Even though there is going to be an upfront expense to the installation of the wind generators, it is important to know that it is worth it in the end. In the end, the clean energy does pay for itself. [youtube:vfCvu1sZAgY;[link:How to play guitar];http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfCvu1sZAgY&feature=related]

Some states and even some cities have programs in place which encourage people to install wind generators and other alternative energy technologies by reimbursing them for part of the cost. Of course, even without these programs you’ll make your investment back and then some from the savings you’ll see on the cost of electricity.

The installation itself is fairly simple and can be done on your own. Some people think that installing a wind generator is difficult or complicated and should be done by a contractor. Of course, hiring a contractor can get pretty expensive, which keeps many from considering this renewable energy source. However, the fact is that this is an easy project which you can do yourself.

You’ll just need some standard tools and some well written instructions. There is plenty of material available in the web which can help you get started, including step by step instructions which take all of the guesswork out of installing a wind generator. You can have your wind generator installed and producing clean, renewable electrical energy for your home in no time!

Want a guide that can teach you how to build your own residential wind power easily and quickly? This is a great place to start. You can learn to build wind generators in your own backyard and save big money on your energy bill.

Earth4Energy Review – Before You Buy Earth4Energy

If you have heard all the hype around people making their home wind turbine and solar power at home for little under $250, you would have noticed that there are dozens of diy energy guides on the market. One them, Earth4Energy, claims it can help you save up to 80% on your power bill. But what is the truth behind the guide? We got ourselves a copy, and this is what we found.

Likes:

1 – Great value for money

Although similarly priced to its competitors, the Earth4Energy ebook is not only the longest guide (currently 73 pages), but also the most complete. And if the guide could not answer any questions we had, the great customer support helped fill in the blanks, which brings us to our next point…

2 – Excellent customer service

Our support questions were replied to very quickly, very helpful advice. Also, after we requested that they add video instruction to help us see the systems being built in real-time, they did. Now it is the only diy energy guide that offers video instruction for both the home solar power and home wind turbine!

3 – The best solar power plans

The solar power plans were full of advice and with the step-by-step videos, they were the easiest to follow. Micheal Harvey was accurate in saying it would cost us under $150 for all the materials and parts, since we ended up only spending $139.37. How crazy is that? If you think to get a professional system with similar power output would have cost well into the thousands of dollars!

Another winning aspect about Earth4Energy is that is explains how you can make the solar power system portable, and use it to power your RV. This also comes in handy for those off the grid camping trips.

Dislikes:

1 – More than one system needed for best results:

This actually applies to all the energy guides featured on our site. Although it is very possible to get completely off the grid with these plans – ie. generate enough electricity to power every part of your property – you need to scale up. So, depending on your household’s average energy consumption, and average hours of sunlight and wind speed, you will most probably have to make more than one solar/wind power system to get the desired results.

Verdict:

If you are really serious about making your own home wind turbine and solar power system to start saving money, then Earth4Energy is your best option. It has the most comprehensive instructions, practical diagrams, step-by-step videos, and top quality customer service with regular, value-added, free updates. And it is no wonder it has outperformed it closet competitors – Homemade Energy and Efficient Planet – by over 500% (based on number of happy customers).

And what’s even better is that you can now get a FREE sneak peek of Earth4Energy, before deciding to make your own Home Solar Power and save thousands on your electricity costs.

My Experience With Make Natural Power

Over the past year a lot of diy energy guides have appeared on the internet, promising to teach even a complete technical newbie how to make their own home solar and wind power, and reduce their energy bills by up to 80%. One those guides happens to be Make Natural Power. But does it deliver what is promises? And is how does it stack up to the other guides?

The best thing about Make Natural Power is its cover. Everything beyond that was disappointing to say the least. Although it appears to have all the features of the the other guides, the information is very thin and not well-explained.

Good Aspects:

The only thing I liked about it was that you can eventually build your own solar panels and wind turbine, but it will take you forever if you are not technologically inclined.

Why it disappointed us:

* Poor drawings

Not only were the diagrams for both the solar and wind power instructions boring and dull, but they were badly labeled and and not even to scale.

* Low quality solar power system

The poor instructions and confusing drawings, made it difficult to replicate. This resulted in me having to make too many guesses and build a rubbish solar power system.

* Poor maintenance advice

While I eventually got my wind generator to work, it ended up breaking after 2 months. This could have been prevented if I was given correct advice on how to effectively maintain the wind turbine.

* Slow customer support

A lot of the time we had to contact customer service for assistance. But they were very slow to respond, and by the time they did reply we had either forgotten what the problem or had figured it out ourselves. On average, it will take over 5 days to get the answers you need.

Conclusion

Make Natural Power is like a cheap replica of Earth4Energy. It was poorly put together, lacked critical advice, and did nothing but frustrate me.

Tim McDonald recommends you rather try Earth4Energy for FREE, if you want to build a quality DIY Renewable Energy system and actually reduce your electricity bill.

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DIY Wind Turbines as an Affordable Energy Alternative

The cost of maintaining your household can be staggering. One of the larger expenses for any home is of course the cost of electricity. Many people find themselves budgeting carefully for this expense and trying as hard as possible to conserve energy to keep pace with the increasing cost of energy.

Some of your monthly bills can’t really be adjusted. Your phone bill, your internet access and of course housing are usually not elastic. There are areas where you can cut costs, but these are not generally among them.

Electricity is one bill which you can save on, however. You can use the best conservation methods, unplugging unused appliance and the like, but there’s only so much money you can save this way and of course, if the people you live with aren’t also diligent about these things, you may be frustrating yourself quite literally over a few pennies.[youtube:qH4AMThBcgg;[link:Easy blues guitar lessons];http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH4AMThBcgg&feature=related]

However, you can use all of the electricity you need if you can find an alternative source of energy to use other than what is supplied by your local utility company. Renewable alternative energy sources exist which you can use to keep your electricity costs down; and in some cases, you may even be able to sell excess electrical power to your utility company!

Two of the most popular alternative sources of energy are wind energy and solar energy. Solar energy is pretty common these days and its benefits have been talked about a lot in the past. However, wind energy is something that many households do not take advantage of because they think that they need big wind generators for them to work.

Actually all you need are small wind turbines that you place on your rooftop. You don’t need to worry about figuring out where to get them because you can actually make them yourself if you have the necessary materials that you can acquire online or in the junkyard.

If you live in an area which tends to get strong, steady winds, you may be able to generate the bulk of your own electricity! The more turbines you have the more power you’ll produce and the less you’ll have to pay your utility company for each month.

The way that a wind turbine works is simple – the kinetic energy generated by the rotors moving in the wind is converted into electrical energy which you can use in your home. Best of all, your wind turbines generate power day and night; unlike a solar panel. Excess energy can be stored in batteries and used later.

Wind turbines won’t be able to supply every home with all of the energy they need – since not every home has the space to build several turbines. However, even people in big cities can take advantage of this alternative energy source and lower their electric bills with their own clean, renewable energy. Cheap and easy to build and install, wind turbines are the answer to meeting your energy needs on a tight budget.

Check out how you can make diy wind power for your own house and save cash on your electric bill. Making your own wind power generators may save you hundreds on the cost of buying one at the store as well and still make lots of power.

Green Energy The Next Five Years

One thing to understand about Americans is we vacation less and tend to often speak only one language. While this differentiates us from the rest of the world, Americans are still concerned about the way the rest of the world sees us. Anyone traveling overseas is stereotyped as an “ugly American,” but even more so in today’s world due to our over consumption of the world’s energy. In fact, according to recent studies, the United States is about 4% of the world’s population, but consumes nearly 25% of the world’s energy.

This is a particularly embarrassing situation we you consider the fact that many European countries have taken it upon themselves to reduce their reliance on traditional forms of energy, which have been proven to expedite climate change. In fact, the European Union recently announced that they have embarked on an ambitious plan to reduce CO2 levels by twenty percent by 2020. To accomplish this awesome feat, countries that are part of the EU will turn to alternative sources of energy like solar and wind power, which, of course, do not harm the environment. Already countries like Germany, Great Britain and the Netherlands have invested billions in these new technologies.

Do you know what the Americans did? Uhm, absolutely nothing. Instead our politicians spent countless hours arguing over whether this is a viable problem. Without an agreement it means there is no new legislation, and without legislation we are left looking like the bad guy in the world’s eyes. The truth is our politicians are missing the point. Even if climate change wasn’t a real issue, we are still consuming a quarter of the world’s energy. This is really embarrassing, and the only way to control it is by utilizing all the alternatives that are right in front of us everyday.

So in order to change our country and help the world, it’s up to us to make the change ourselves. We have to work together and show all of our politicians that this is the answer. Granted, it’s not going to be an easy task, but it starts with you. When you realize the benefits and see the difference, your word of mouth will spread to others, and eventually we can all consume less energy, save money on bills, and help the environment.

Solar Power – With the recent increases in electricity prices throughout the United States, it just makes sense to install solar electricity panels at home. Not only is solar power clean, sustainable and free, it is also less expensive to install than it’s ever been. In fact many people with solar panels find that they can depend on them for all or most of their electricity needs. The only drawback is that solar power does not produce electricity on cloudy days or at night. That is why many people who’ve invested in solar panels also choose to put in a wind turbine as well.

Wind Turbines – Wind turbines are nothing more than small windmills that are used for producing electricity. As we mentioned, they are also used in combination with solar electricity and they have proved extremely efficient at producing electricity. That is one reason the Europeans have invested so heavily in them. Another reason is that they are cheap. The average home wind turbine can be installed for only a few hundred dollars. They are nearly maintenance free and will produce electricity whenever the wind blows.

Hybrid Cars – Even though hybrid cars are more expensive then your average vehicle, you will soon realize the benefits of saving on gas. It’s nice to know you can save up to $1500 a year just because you purchased a better and more efficient energy car. If you look at the big picture you will save $15,000 over a decade.

Fluorescent Lights – This may sound crazy, but simply placing your regular lights with fluorescent versions can definitely be more energy efficient. While you may not see a huge decline in your electricity costs upfront, over time you will realize the difference. These can last up to 10,000 hours, which is 10 times more than your average bulb. Best of all they can be recycled when they’ve been completely used.

Energy Efficient Windows – Did you know most of the heat you lose during the winter is due to poorly built windows? If you’re trying to lower your heating bill, then this is probably one of the best investments you can make.

So there you have it, a few solid suggestions on how each and every one of us can do our part and stop being ugly Americans.

Author: Jerry Dyess has written article for the Electricity market for the past 7 years. Get more information on Business Electric rates.