With global warming constantly on the news and the price of fossil fuels continuing to increase, should we act now to start the switch to sustainable power or wait until we are forced. The technology and research into renewable energy is now gathering speed for two reasons, global warming and cost and availability of fossil fuels so is wind power for homes the way forward. Now I am not suggesting that oil, gas, and coal are suddenly going to disappear but at some stage in the future these recourses have got to start to dwindle, over the past 2-3 years we have seen a dramatic increase in the cost of these commodities.

Pairing this with the ever increasing threat of global conflict could in the future see the scenario of a country with good supplies of fossil fuels, cut or limit supplies to another over a diplomatic situation.

Living off grid is something we should at least start to consider over the coming years, the power from the wind and the sun has been here from the beginning of time and will continue to exist as long as there is life on earth, we just need to learn how to harness them for our daily use.

There are things that need to be taken into consideration before jumping in, for a start you will need to check the average mean speed of the wind in your area to determine if it is practical for you to save money on your utility bill using a wind turbine, the average mean speed should be at least 5/ms or meters per second.

A Anemometer is one devise that you can use to test this or if you live in a fairly open space without many obstructions (buildings or trees) you can check the yearly wind charts for your area via a local met office or local authority.

Anemometers can be purchased new or second hand if you search locally for them or you can make your own, there are many good guides around today with step by step guides on how to do this.

Start to take some readings from your electricity meter or check your last utility bill to discover how much electricity your home or indeed business is using per month (kwh). on average a home will use around 750 kilowatt -hours (kwh) per month.

This together with the facts gathered on the wind speed at your property will be able to give you an idea of the power rating needed for your wind turbine, in some cases it may not be possible to live off grid but the savings over time should be worth it, here are some of your options.

Build A Wind Turbine

There are many good guides, books, EBooks, and videos available to help you with every aspect of your project and if you are practical minded this option could be a cheap way to get started.

Buy A Kit Form Wind Turbine

There are hundreds of kit versions on the market and most come with full instructions, I have also found some good second hand kits fairly cheap, for obvious reasons try to look locally.

Have A System Installed

This is the most expensive option and will take the longest time for you to see a return on your investment but if you have the budget it will be the easiest.

New systems are coming on to the market all the time as development and manufacturing companies are now realising consumers are demanding better systems.