Alternative Energy Sources are becoming increasingly important. The Olympics currently taking place in China have been a good example to the world of how polluted some of our bigger cities are becoming. Although most western cities aren't quite as bad as China's big cities, there is still a lot of invisible pollution surrounding us. Nasty chemicals that our world and our bodies weren't designed for. Add this to the obvious truth that the world's climate is changing - everyone is aware that the weather patterns just aren't like they used to be and this appears to be caused by global warming.

Alternative Energy Sources are becoming increasingly popular and affordable. The two main types of home electricity generation are solar power and wind power. Solar power generation is the use of solar panels to capture the sun's rays and convert it into electricity. Wind power generation involves setting up a small windmill or wind turbine that then spins when caught by the wind and generates electricity this way.

A wind power home on its own may not make a huge difference to the environment, but it still makes a difference by reducing the amount of fossil fuels being used. As the number of houses using alternative forms of energy increases, the difference made to the amount of fossil fuels being used becomes larger. More importantly for the home user though, making use of the planet's natural resources to generate electricity is effectively free once the initial setup has been completed.

Initial setup isn't that complicated either. Basically you want to find a part of your property with good windflow to erect the home wind turbine. This is then wired up to, normally, a bank of batteries that store the electricity generated. This can then be fed into your house's power supply or used to power extra lighting or even your water heating.

How much can you reduce your dependence on grid electricity by? Well, the amount of electricity you are able to generate will depend on several factors, including how windy the area you live in is, the setup of the turbine and the amount of electricity you actually use. In some cases people are able to live completely off grid, or are even able to generate more electricity than they need and actually sell it back on the grid. Yes, some places are just that windy. For most people to be able to live off grid would involve a combination of wind and solar energy.