If you're reading this chances are you have some interest in how wind power technology is used to generate electricity - and more specifically, how it can be used to help power your home. Today we explore some of the basics of setting up a wind power installation at home with the help of the Earth4Energy guidebook.
 
So you want to set up a wind turbine at home? The first key question that has to be asked is the obvious one - have you got enough wind? In general you will need a reasonable speed and consistency of wind. If there's not enough wind then your next best alternative is using solar power - something else that the Earth4Energy guidebook can assist you with.
 
You will also need to ensure that the part of your property where you are considering basing the wind turbine has reasonably low wind interference. Nearby trees and buildings are likely to impact on the strength of the wind as it hits the propeller - you are wanting as much wind strength as possible so this is an important consideration. The good thing is that you can increase the force of the wind by raising the tower upwards. The higher the tower the greater the wind strength will be - be sure not to raise it too high though, you don't want the propeller flying off!
 
Once you have chosen your site the next step is building the wind propeller / turbine itself. Of course you can always head out and buy one, but by far the more rewarding and cost effective method is to build the wind turbine yourself - and the great news is that this is a lot easier than you think. The Earth4Energy guidebook shows you exactly what you need and also shows you how you're able to purchase the parts at a cost-effective price.
 
The final step is making use of the electricity generated. There are two main options here - whether you connect the additional electricity into your mains supply or whether you use it to directly power your appliances. For obvious reasons connecting it to your mains supply requires a properly qualified electrical technician - the payback here is that with some suppliers you are able to get paid for any electricity that you send back into the grid. So for an example, on a really windy day you might not only be saving money, you might be making money as well. As a part of this setup you'll also quite likely have a setup or batteries to store electricity so that you can make use of stored electricity when the sun isn't shining or the wind not blowing.