Back in the day if you thought about a home wind turbine, what would have come to mind is a large tower with enormous white blades spinning rather slowly. But, with the development in technology and the need for more and more people to become energy efficient, small residential wind turbines can now be erected at home. Even better news for green enthusiasts is the ability to make their home wind turbine, without spending thousands of dollars on contractors.

So, how does a home wind turbine make power?

A home wind turbine produces power by moving a small turbine. This turbine is attached to a hub, where 3 or 5 blades are fixed, which in turn is placed at the top a tall tower. To keep the blades spinning, a guidance system or tail is attached to the hub, to keep it facing the wind.

If you do not know what a turbine/motor is or how it works, let me explain. Copper coils spin past magnets, and create an electromagnetic charge. This charge is then sent through wires to the batteries where it is stored. To use that charge in your home it needs to be passed through an inverter that changes the current from direct to alternating current. The reason wind power has become more popular on a small scale, is because of the improvement and efficiency in the design of the turbine.

The tower is usually quite tall to help the blades catch as much wind as possible. But in open, windy areas, such as near the ocean, the tower can be a little lower.

With more money being put into research, the blades have changed drastically over the years. The rotors generally have 3 instead in of 5 blades now, since the blades have become lighter, stronger, and able to spin in very light breezes. The blades also come an assortment of diameters, according to the average wind speeds and energy needs.

Up until now I have been talking about your average horizontal axis home wind turbine. But there is also another design taking off. It is a wind turbine that spins on the vertical axis. Also know as a VAWT (vertical axis wind turbine), this generator’s blades resemble some type of water-wheel on its side. The problem with the VAWT is that it spins rather close to the ground, making it unable to catch the stronger, higher up winds, so it is not a good option for residential home-owners. Also when erected in open areas, the blades are large and spin so fast birds do not see them and fly straight into them - which is not very eco-friendly.

What you need to know before you buy a home wind turbine:

How big is the property?

Wind turbines generally operate better in large areas that cover an acre. This is because wind flow is not deflected by any nearby buildings.

How windy is it where you live?

The recommended wind speed should be at least eleven miles per hour, but if that isn’t the case then you may have to use a taller tower and larger blades to catch higher altitude winds.

What else can I use the wind turbine for?

The more uses you can think of for your wind power, the more attractive it will be to get one. Windmills have been used for centuries to pump water through irrigation systems, and farmers still use them today.

Do you rely on an uninterrupted power supply?

This is why so many people want to get a small wind turbine in the first place - to keep the house powered during blackouts, and prevent economic losses. Although the wind turbine may not power the house all the time, it’s stored power can be used in emergencies, when the utilities are just not enough.

Taking the above points into consideration will help you determine how much power you require, the length of tower needed, the diameter of the blades, and the benefits and costs of using a home wind turbine.

The nice thing about technological developments is that the motor are becoming small and lighter. This make it possible to install to a few smaller wind turbine right on the roof, and make a similar amount of power to one larger home wind turbine.

Though expert installations can be anything up to $100,000, it is possible to learn how to make your own home wind turbine for a small fraction of the cost. What’s more is America and other countries offer tax rebates to energy efficient homeowners, so not only will you save on utility bills, but also pay less tax.

With the continued concern over the release of carbon dioxide into the environment and the reduction in the supply of finite fossil fuels to power our homes and factories, researchers are constantly on the look out for renewable energy solutions. This means that plenty of time and energy is put into the innovation and application of energy sources such as solar energy.

Solar energy is at the top of the list of these future energy sources because the sun is one thing that is not likely to go away any time soon or at least within our immediate lifetimes.  Also, the sun releases one thousand watts of energy per square meter.  This energy is the same all over the globe which is available to anyone and is a renewable supply on a daily basis.

Right now the problem with using solar energy on a high yield level needed to supply large areas is that at this point in time, the technology simply does not exist to adequately capture all of the solar energy and process it successfully. Technology is evolving to make solar panels capable of processing more of the energy that is passed through them. There are even large solar collector power stations that aim to create enough power for mass consumption but these stations are still few and far between.

Hopefully in the near future we will be able to rely more and more on sunlight as a sustainable form of energy that will help cut back (or possibly eliminate) the need for burning fossil fuels.

There is however an increasing number of people that are converting their individual homes to utilize solar energy.  Infrastructure on a mass scale may not exist to power entire communities and cities but at the individual level people are able to capture and successfully use this energy for their own needs.  This is the direction the world is moving toward, clean, renewable and sustainable energy.

So effective is this method of energy production that the herdsmen of Mongolia, who because of the far reaching expanse of its steppes are isolated by vast distances from the power grid and therefore rely upon solar energy to supply their electrical needs.  They are now able to bridge the great divide in technology that physical distance has kept them from in the past and now use cell phones while riding their horses.

Another form of energy that is capable of being renewable and sustainable is nuclear power.  However, there are many concerns over this type of power source and the dangers that can arise if not handled properly.  Apart from the fact that contamination and melt downs are an ever present reality, nuclear power is dangerous because of its byproducts which cannot be reabsorbed or destroyed.

In fact the byproducts from nuclear waste take millions of years to break down which means that they can never be dispersed freely into the ecosystem making storage a nightmare.

There is only a finite amount of space and the nuclear waste is fast filling up.  While nuclear power fulfills an immediate need for us, we never know the aftermath or the far reaching consequences our future generations will inherit.  So, while this energy source is one that will be capable of running large amounts of energy for many years to come, it has some serious drawbacks that must be taken into consideration if it is going to be used on a larger scale in the future.

For the time being, researchers continue to look for ways to implement renewable, sustainable forms of energy that can be used well into the future without damaging the environment.  The sense of urgency has increased as the concern over the environment has been addressed on the national stage where energy companies are exploring the use of solar, wind, and hydro power where they can.

Unfortunately for the time being, we have to continue to rely on fossil fuel energy until a realistic solution presents itself. Essentially it is a case of mobilizing the resources available behind renewable energy solutions. This will happen with time and is inevitable given the finite nature of fossil fuels. What we can do today is reduce our demand on these natural resources in order to preserve them for longer.

One of the main contributors to the level of carbon dioxide in the environment is the production of energy. We pretty much take electricity for granted in developed/developing countries. We will casually flick a switch and on go the lights, the television and the microwave. But have you ever wondered where your energy is coming from?  If you haven’t, then it might surprise you that most of our current energy needs are mostly being met by fossil fuels like coal and oil. Both of these energy sources are responsible for a lot of the toxic carbon dioxide that is currently in our atmosphere and it is because of these carbon dioxide emissions that scientists are growing increasingly concerned with its impact on our environment.

Because people do not realize how their normal electrical usage can affect the climate in such a strong way, they are not as concerned about trying to find alternatives.  However, the importance for finding clean, renewable, sustainable forms of energy has never been more important.  Apart from the fact that the energy sources we use now could harm the atmosphere, the fact is that they are not renewable and eventually at the rate at which we are consuming the energy, we will soon run out.  This is probably the most pressing reason behind our need to find alternative sources of energy.

Right now energy companies have been exploring the options for using solar and wind energy on a wider basis than is currently being used.  Dams are also a great source for hydro power but are only good in areas with lakes and rivers that can be confined and used as a source of energy.  Likewise, wind energy can only be harnessed in areas where there are consistently moderate wind gusts, so a lot of areas which do not fall into this category might not have access to enough wind energy to sustain their power needs.

Right now researchers all over the globe are trying to find alternative energy sources.  The most common yet controversial form of energy that does not release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is nuclear power, but concerns over the dangers of contamination and melt downs have kept nuclear power from developing on a larger scale.  Nuclear power may be a clean form of energy but is not without its share of downfalls, it produces harmful nuclear waste which takes millions of years to break down which can only be stored.  This is problematic considering we only have so much land for storage and being contained in this way, the nuclear byproducts could eventually leach into the environment.

Until something is discovered that can provide enough sustainable and reliable energy without releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide into the air, the best alternative is to try to cut back on  energy usage on a consistent basis.  Research has shown that if everyone just took the time to turn off the lights in their homes when they were not in use, that it would help to cut back the amount of energy being used by up to twenty five percent. Even simple things can make a huge difference.