Wind and Solar Power Generator

If there was an alternative for you to avoid paying the ridiculously high price for gasoline, an option that was virtually FREE, would you choose to use that option rather than spending your hard-earned money making the oil companies even richer ? Of course you would.

If there was a way for you to avoid paying an electric bill monthly, would you also choose that option ? Again, the answer would obviously be a resounding YES!

Well, something that still at least somewhat surprises me, is that there is another choice instead of paying the electric company that hard-earned money, month after month, year after year. The part that surprises me is that a very few, and I mean a tiny fraction of the people that could totally eliminate their monthly electric bill, choose to do so.

In fact, if you produce (and you can) more electrical energy than your home uses, the utility company buys the surplus from you.

I would guess that most people have at least heard of solar and wind power for generating electricity by now. However, relatively few are taking advantage of this God-given source of almost totally free energy. Admittedly there is a cost associated with building the system(s) that converts the suns energy, and the energy of the wind into electricity that you can utilize for your home, but the costs are so minimal when compared to what is spent in a lifetime paying the electric company, they can almost be considered negligible. This is, of course, assuming you build the system(s) yourself.

Commercially available systems are still very high in cost, and will probably continue to remain so, at least until newer, more cost effective methods of production are developed. As more and more people start turning to alternative, renewable energy sources, this will come about.

Well, it doesn't have to be that way. Right now it's possible to build your own wind turbine electrical generator for just a fraction, and I mean a very small dollar value compared to what it costs to buy a comparable unit commercially.

For less than $200, using only simple tools and parts available from your local hardware or home supply store,and eBay, you can build a wind power generator that will supply up to 80% of the electrical needs of a modest sized home. Obviously, if you were to build (2) of these units, you would have a surplus of electrical power that you could then actually sell back to the utility company that has been taking so much of your money for all these years!!

One thing many people ask is, 'What happens when there is no wind ?'. There's a very simple answer, for an equally small investment you can also add a solar unit to your home electrical generating system. Then you have both wind and solar power working to keep the current flowing. Is that always enough to keep the electrical power at it's peak ? Well, there still could be times when there is virtually no wind, and no sunshine. That's when deep cycle batteries are figured into the system.

Deep cycle storage batteries are different from the battery in your car. The battery in your vehicle is designed to have high 'cranking amps.' This just means that the battery can provide a heavy current, but just for short periods of time. A deep cycle battery is designed to be able to supply a decent amount of current (power), for extended periods.

So, the way the system that you can build works is like this...when the sun is shining, and/or the wind is blowing, the solar panel(s), and/or wind turbine is generating the electricity. This electricity is there for you to use for your tv, computer, refrigerator, whatever it is that you need to run on electrical power in your home.

It's not limited to supplying the power for the immediate demands of your household though. Some of the electricity also goes into the deep cycle batteries, keeping them charged so that they can provide you with uninterrupted electrical power when there isn't sufficient wind or sunlight to keep things going. An inverter is added to convert the DC current from the batteries into AC current that your household appliances can use. It's a fool-proof system powered entirely by the sun and wind.

For such a relatively tiny investment, this is undoubtedly the single easiest, least expensive change that the average homeowner could make, that would also result in the largest amount of money being saved month after month, year after year. If you ever decide to sell your home, the market value is also greatly enhanced.

You can replace all your light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, you can add insulation, you can add double or even triple pane, gas filled windows, and all these changes are great, but in comparison to suddenly not having an electric bill, there is nothing that is a better move than building you own solar and wind power system for your home.

It's also worth noting: in the past, most homes have been heated with either natural gas or propane due to the low efficiency of most electric furnaces. Electric heaters (or furnaces) work by drawing a very high current, resulting in, yes, very high costs, but if you were to add on to your home built system to the point of having electrical energy to spare, you could get to the point that you could totally heat (and cool) your house with virtually free, totally 'green' electricity.

This single tiny investment of a little money, and a few hours time, could prove to be one of the best financial moves that many people ever make in their entire lives. Free electricity for life does add up after all. Do it for yourself, but just as importantly, do it for the generations to come.