How to Make Home Wind Energy

Humans have been using wind power for generations in their factories, businesses, and homes: cooling fans in factories and homes, water pumping stations for cities, and windmills for grist mills. Who, over the age of 50, doesn't remember the box fan in the kitchen and living room to cool us on those hot summer days before the advent of air conditioning. We now have the technology to use the wind and the fan blades to make residential energy in machines called wind turbines; machines that generate electricity.

Wind is really product of solar energy. The sun heats the Earth's surface unevenly. The resulting temperature differences cause air currents that we perceive as wind. Wind turbines, which are more like windmills than fans, convert the force of the wind into mechanical energy that turns a shaft. The turning shaft turns a generator that converts this mechanical energy into electrical energy.

Today's homeowners are well aware of the constantly increasing cost of all sorts of power, especially the cost of electrical power for their homes. Considering alternative sources of power is prudent, and harnessing the power of the wind to create this alternate power can be quite cost effective.

Homeowners initially shy away from considering residential wind energy using wind generators. They conjure up images of the large commercial wind farms seen in the Southwest and on the Great Plains, with their enormous windmills set upon tall towers. These commercial wind farms produce megawatts of electrical power to provide their customers. Most home users would need only about 1000 watts of power, a significant difference in both output and the size of the wind turbine needed, at much lower cost.

Decades ago, when the technology was first coming into its own, information on how to build home systems and fully exploit residential wind energy was hard to come by. Today, however, with the Internet and the prevalence of home building supply stores, do-it-yourself guides are readily available at low cost. These guides, at least the better ones, usually have step-by-step instructions along with charts, schematics, and pictures to make the job easier. You can buy a commercially manufactured unit and have it professionally installed, but it will cost thousands of dollars. If you elect to build your own system, however, you can do so for about $200. Regardless of which way you decide to go, you will eventually recoup your initial investment through monthly cost saving from your electric bill.

The home built unit stores its power in storage batteries for use on demand by the homeowner. Some homeowners, who have built systems that provide power in excess of their current needs, find that they can sell the surplus to the power company resulting in further savings.

The motivation for most homeowners when installing residential wind energy systems is saving money, but they also receive a beneficial side effect. By using wind, a source of renewable energy, they are helping to free the environment from the damages inflicted by burning fossil fuels. They are helping to give their children and grandchildren a better planet upon which to live.