Build Your Own Homemade Wind Power Generator

People have been using wind power for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians were the first to use wind for powering the sails of their ships. The first windmills, used for grinding grain, were located in Persia during the 6th and 7th centuries, years later the Dutch used them to pump water, grind grain, and run sawmills. In the U.S., wind power was widely used from 1870 until the 1930s. In 1888 the first windmill to generate electricity was built by Charles Brush in Cleveland, Ohio.

Well, first to go green. In the past that would be labeled a "tree hugger" - Today it is labeled "Smart". Wind is a clean fuel and off sets polluntants from other sources, such as electricity generated by your power company. Typically a 10 killowatt (kW) wind turbine will offset approximately 1.2 tons of air pollutants, and 250 tons of greenhouses gases over its operating life.

If your home is connected to a power grid , and produces more electricity than your home uses, the power companies buy back the excess power. This buy back is called Net Metering or a Feed-In-Tariff. When you have excess energy, the inverter converts electricity to the utility's standards, allowing the power company to buy the excess power as it flows backwards through your meter. At this time, 39 states allow connection of PV to the grid, and 36 states require net metering for utility companies. Consult your local utility company about their policies. You could use power from the utility during the night or on a cloudy day. When the bill comes it may show whether the wind system produced more or less energy than you used. If it is more, then you pay the difference. If it is less then the utility credits you at a wholesale price.

Average wind speed at your home is the primary factor to determine benefits from a wind turbine. Wind speeds of 10 mph (or about 5 m/s) are recommended.

Visit the US wind maps at WindPoweringAmerica.gov

From what I can see Wind Power Generators are going the way of Satellite TV. Remember, when they first came out they were huge and you had to have a lot of room for them. Wind Generators are the same way. They are getting more compact, moving into the suburbs and urban areas and not taking up as much room. They are changing in a way they more people can take advantage of them.

They may not replace your entire energy bill - Let you live "off the Grid" - but it can certainly make the time and investment worth while and help your bill go much lower.