With electricity and fuel costs rising steadily, more and more homeowners are turning to alternatives for home energy savings.

In today’s economy, with America’s increasing consumption of electricity and natural resources, the possibility of an inexpensive, renewable and reliable energy source is seen by consumers as a breath of fresh air. That’s where wind energy comes in.

According to the Department of Energy, modern wind turbines can convert winds in most U.S. states and coastal waters into reliable, clean electricity. While wind today provides only a small percentage of our national electricity needs, it is an immense homeland energy resource and is the fastest-growing energy supply technology.

The United States has an abundance of potentially viable wind resources-onshore and offshore-estimated at over 2,000 gigawatts (GW). To put this into perspective, 350 GW of installed wind capacity would represent about 20 percent of our nation’s current electricity demand. This is similar to the level of electricity produced from the nation’s nuclear or natural gas-fired generation today.

Unlike most other electricity sources, wind turbines don’t consume water. For instance, irrigation and thermal electric generation use 77 percent of all fresh water in the U.S.; wind turbines, on the other hand, don’t use water at all. That makes wind energy a great choice for drought-stricken communities in rural America.

In nearly thirty states at the time of this writing, homeowners who remain on the grid but who still choose to use wind energy (or other alternative forms) are eligible for rebates or tax breaks from the state governments that end up paying for as much as 50% of their total “green” energy systems’ costs.

In addition, there are 35 states at the time of this writing where these homeowners are allowed to sell their excess energy back to the power company under what are called “net metering laws”. The rates that they are being paid by the local power companies for this energy are standard retail rates—in other words, the homeowners are actually profiting from their own energy production.

As a conscientious person, you can do your part for the environment while saving some serious money on your utility bill.

Residential wind turbines are the answer. Often given the nickname “small wind”, these turbines are designed to work on a per home basis. Given the right conditions, a residential turbine can produce all of the electricity you need and more. In fact, the generator will be hooked up to the utility grid and you can actually sell power to the utility if you produce more than you need.

Manipulating the wind to generate electricity for your home is cheap, easy and very misunderstood. First, you dont have to live in the middle of tornado alley to generate electricity from the wind. Also, smaller wind systems are so simple, you can do it yourself.

Now, the word turbine can be a bit intimidating. When I think of a turbine, I picture something large and loud. When talking about wind power, understand that technological advances have dramatically changed the systems. Forget windmills, turbines and large structures. Unless you own a city, you will not be dealing with those.

Instead, modern residential wind systems essentially look like weathervanes on top of 30 foot poles. They are no bigger than a couple of feet long, have three blades and are very thin. In the case of small wind, the machinery makes a bit of noise, but nothing substantial. Although sizes vary, your little power producer will be roughly three to five feet wide from the tip of one propeller to the other.

To make electricity, your turbine needs to get 10 miles an hour of wind. This may sound like a lot, but it often is not if you go 20 or 30 feet up in the air. To this end, you can do a search for small wind information to find out the statistics for your area.

Six Reasons For Owning Your Own Power Generator

1. Wind power is the fastest growing energy producer in the world.

2. Wind systems can work with barely any wind at all.

3. You can install a small wind system yourself.

4. A small wind system will run you around $1,000 and pay for itself in a year depending on your current utility bill.

5. Small wind power systems can cut your energy costs in half.

6. You can get financial incentives for improving your home with wind power.

There you have it. The worlds simplest energy producing system is wind. As long as it exists, you will always be able to tap it for power.

Are you ready to learn more about harnessing the wind and creating your own electricity? Getting off the grid means long-term savings on energy costs, and you may also qualify for tax credits and/or rebates. Anyone with average skills can do this. You do not need to be a mechanic or even a carpenter to set up your own wind machine. Just follow step-by-step instructions and you will be amazed at how easy it was. Learn more about building your own wind power system here: DIY WIND POWER

If you’d like to learn how to capture the sun for more renewable energy click here: CAPTURE THE SUN