From the category archives:

DIY Green Projects

Wind Power at Home

November 29, 2009

Given the planet’s ever-increasing demand for it’s limited fossil fuel resources , it’s  time we undertake practical plans to save energy. In addition to remaining vigilant about reducing our usage of power and water at home, we can apply efficient and cost-effective wind power solutions at our homes. Solar power solutions and wind power solutions are the two of the most cost-effective solutions that can replace the conventional power solutions used at our homes.

These solutions can help you combat power failures, reduce your electricity bills, and help repair the environment.

This article will explore the cost-effective wind power solutions that you’ll be able to employ at home.

Wind power solutions operate most effectively when the following conditions are met:

• You own a home or farm covering a large area. Typically, wind power solutions are most effective in areas covering over an acre.
• The average wind speed in your area is approximately 10 to 12 mph –  placing wind power solutions at a home with little wind flow will not work.   For this reason it’s important to consult an expert prior to installing the wind power solution at home.
• You have a need to pull water from outside sources. If  you need to draw water from outside regularly, a wind power system offers up the best solution, although it is by no means a requirement.
• Your home necessitates a large, continuous power supply. Battling power failures is easy with the pollution-free wind power systems available today. You won’t ever again have to worry about an interruption at work because of a power uncertainty.

The typical wind power system contains a tower and five blades to produce massive wind energy. The height of the wind tower depends on the positioning of your home. You might call for a higher tower if your house lies in a low-wind zone, and you could have to employ a shorter tower if you live by the beach to take advantage of the generally higher winds.  Using a special wind generator, this wind energy can be changed into valuable electricity to be used at home for operating assorted electrical appliances. You’ll also be able to store the generated electricity for later consumption, making wind generators more cost-efficient than conventional power systems.

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… solar kitchen is powered by Scheffler’s reflector technology, and is situated in Rajasthan, India

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You can even make your own solar cell by heating up copper plates to form cuprous oxide, which is a form of semiconductor. But these homemade solar cells are inefficient at best and only produce microwatts of power per cell. …

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Why Register? Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions. As a registered user of The Wall Street Journal Online, you will be able to: Setup and manage your portfolio

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One of the best ways I’ve found to lower my electric bill is simply to replace every old light bulb in my house to a compact fluorescent version.  I thought I was a relatively early adopter in this sense, until I saw this article on TreeHugger.  Turns out some people already have working prototypes of [...]

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Generating home solar electricity is far less expensive now than just 5 years ago.  In fact, many states now offer tax incentives to people who opt to convert to home solar electricity.  If you find that installing a photovoltaic system to generate your home solar electricity is too expensive for you, there are also programs [...]

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This site has a handy solar water heater calculator will give you a pretty good estimate of how much money you can save by using the sun to heat your water. Keep in mind that you will maximize your overall savings by installing the solar water heater yourself using one of our recommended DIY green project guides.

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Many people have decided to take responsibility for their part in helping the environment, and have found that making their own green energy not only helps save the planet, but also dramatically lowers their electric bill.

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Interested in building your own wind power generator but not sure if it’s worth it? Even though it takes relatively little wind to make enough green energy to lower your electricity bill, it’s probably a good idea to check what the research says. Is your area windy enough for wind power? Use this free wind power map to help you find out.

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Got some water, 2 buckets, a power drill, scissors and a simple hand saw?  This cheap DIY solar thermal heater project from Instructables will cost you around $5 and is a very easy diy green project that is both efficient and fun to build. Here’s an excerpt from the author’s post: I let this guy [...]

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