So you’re interested in finding alternative energy sources–good for you!
Whether you’re on a quest for cheap electricity or you’re just tired of waiting for your local power company to show real interest in renewable energy, you’re smart to take matters into your own hand and research how you can power your home with wind power. This article will take you through the three steps you’ll want to take first so that you can make the best use of residential wind power.
Step One: Do lots and lots of research. Then do some more.
We’re talking about electricity here and that makes this a potentially dangerous topic. Don’t let that make you afraid, but do be cautious. From power conditioning to power surges, there’s a lot to consider when it comes to the electricity that comes into your home and you’re going to need to take responsibility for learning and understanding the topic thoroughly.
Please don’t let that scare you off! One of the best things you can do for your household budget and for the planet is to research how to make the switch to alternative energy sources. Buying “offsets” is silly when you can just stop using nonrenewable, pollution-generating sources of power. So, just bring a healthy level of caution, and do plenty of research.
I’ll be posting audio and video over on my blog so that I can walk you through some of the more tricky parts of all of this, and I encourage you to really avail yourself of different forms of information–read it, listen to it, watch it, interact with it if you can find a local exhibition. By really immersing yourself in the topic of alternative energy sources, you’ll learn more quickly just what’s involved with generating your own power.
Step Two: Dive in!
You can keep learning forever and it won’t do you a bit of good. Until you actually build your own windmill or solar panel, it’s all just intellectual. And intellectual stuff won’t save the environment or your money on the home electricity bill! So, once you’ve explored the topic and read and watched and listened, it’s time to apply what you’ve learned.
Actually build your residential windmill!
Buy a kit, put it together, build the tower, and install it (preferably with the help of an electrician, especially the first time). See what happens. Like I said above, do be careful–I don’t want you frying your computer because you’ve caused a power surge–but once you’ve learned a lot, you’re going to want to take action.
Step Three: Do it again!
Once you’ve installed your first residential windmill, you’ll be hooked. Just think of saving 10-20% on your first home electricity bill. That’ll be pretty motivating, won’t it? With wind power, you’re going to want to install several windmills to save the most money on your home energy bill, so repeat step two indefinitely.
Each time you build a new wind turbine, you’re sure to make improvements and learn new approaches and that’s great! Just keep applying what you’ve learned, keep making improvements, and keep enjoying your spot on the leading edge of the alternative energy revolution.
I know, right now this all sounds sort of overwhelming. Each of these three steps is going to take some time (building a residential wind turbine typically takes about a weekend, but the research step will likely take several weeks), and it can be hard in the beginning to both keep your eye on the end goal (no more electricity bill and a 100% renewable energy powered home) and on the next step. But, tackle this just like you have other successful projects in your path and you’ll find that in very little time your electricity company will be paying *you* for the electricity your home is generating. And that’s a great feeling!
Steve is going to make all of his own electricity using solar and wind power within the next few years. He’s doing this because retirement is just around the corner for he and his wife and they want to cut expenses in as many ways as possible so that they’ll be able to genuinely enjoy retirement and keep their lives simple. He’s currently working on powering his home entirely with alternative energy sources and you can follow along on his blog at http://www.wind-power-home-guide.com.
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