Wind Power for Home

There are a number of wind power pros, and cons or perceived cons which will be detailed later. Firstly lets consider the pros of wind power:

Sustainable

Not only sustainable but renewable too, and at a much cost than mining / drilling for coal and oil. The wind will continue to blow, because of a number of factors including the poles, weather systems, channeling and so forth. The cost of harvesting this ongoing resources is basically free (after equipment installation of course.)

Environmentally Friendly

No one really needs to reminded of the dangers of mining and drilling, from the Exxon Valdez to the Gulf of Mexico - these two events held significant costs in environmental, and financial damages.

Cost Effective

A recent study conducted in India, based upon a comparison between electricity generation via wind power and wind turbines revealed that this option was in fact between 4,5 to almost 6 times cheaper than Solar photovoltaics and solar thermal power, respectively. This is obviously beyond the issues of saving money in the medium to long term, after recouping expenses of installation and as compared to current power sources, or so called "on the grid".

Uncontrolled

In saying uncontrolled, the wind is a free resource that is not owned, operated, marketed or whatever by any single or multiple group of companies or individuals, therefore there will never be a premium placed upon the 'delivery' of wind, additionally it is not the finite resource that is as compared to the current oil, coal and natural gas deposits we are currently using.

Now depending upon one's views of natural and renewable resources, you may not consider that there any cons when it comes to sustainable power generation, such as that of wind power. Well there, albeit largely perceived downsides. The following are some of these cons that some folks suggest:

Aesthetics and Property Values

Many unfounded 'accusations' of unsightly wind farms or wind turbines are made, without the consideration of all the advertising billboards let alone the myriad of business signs, satellite dishes and so forth. And with the property value issue, many people have concerns regarding safety, however according to expert opinion should the design and installation of the turbines be correctly done then this should not be a problem. Within the case of the residential wind turbine, a suitable site away from the house or above the house is ideal, and once again the recommendation of a professional installation should be followed.

Site Specific

Apparently some believe that wind turbines can only be placed in specific sites, which is a valid concern based upon the fact that a wind farm cannot be erected just anywhere, they require sufficient space to do so. Naturally a windier region would be better for the establishment of wind farms, this makes natural sense in maximizing the potential of such establishment, however bear in mind that this power is being fed into the grid, which inadvertently affects all who are connected to it.

Interference

There is group of people who have voiced concerns about interference with wildlife, in other words with birds as well as those that claim mobile signal interference. Neither of these claims have any significant grounds to be proven at this point in time, besides the fact that research continues on the harmful effects of mobile technology, so perhaps if there is interference this might be a saving grace?
There are additional claims of disadvantages, yet more seems be done in the development of the wind power and energy generation as compared to other methods, both on a commercial or industrial basis as well as within the residential context of taking advantage of generating electricity from residential wind turbines.