by Brian Bradley

These days it seems like everyone is looking to go green. If youre one of those people who is thinking of using wind power to keep your house powered up, youre not alone.

Getting started is a cinch if you buy a prefabricated wind turbine – one that is pre-made.

A wind power generator that can power you whole house can run from $5000- $20000. This would give you a payoff of ten, maybe even fifteen years, given average power expenses.

This is acceptable to some, but to really get the best value for your money, it is best to apply some do-it-yourself ethos.

If you build carefully, you will see that you can produce the same results as the pre-made wind turbine, for an investment as low as $200.

Youll need to put together the following materials to build your own wind turbine:

* DC Power Motor

* Metal Sheets for building the structure

* ABS or PVC pipe (for turbine blades)

* Hub (put together blades and motor)

* Tower (holds the blades)

* Deep-Cycle Battery (energy storage)

* A charge controlled to prevent battery overload

* Dump load (for excess power)

* AC Inverter (if you need to use AC power)

* Nuts and bolts (connects blades, hubs, and other pieces)

* Tools: socket set, screwdrivers, a grinder, a jigsaw, and sandpaper

From the list you might gather that this could be a complicated process – more so than building solar panels, as it is a more complicated structure, so it requires more knowledge as well.

Though youre putting in more work, youll find that a wind turbine produces far more power than a solar panel. The power generation is about 300 to 500 watts from your own windmill, if everything is assembled correctly. With that kind of power generation, those electricity bills wont be high for long.

Before you begin you should make sure you have enough wind to make it worth you while, otherwise all your work will be for naught. Your best bet is to only use wind turbines if you average wind speed is at least 10 mph. If you are in a low, tree-covered area, then wind power probably isn’t you best bet.

If you aren’t in a wind friendly area your best bet is to go with solar panels instead.

About the Author:
Brian Bradley is the Founding Editor of DIY Clean Energy, the internet’s leading guide on personal wind power and how to build wind power. He writes about his own success going green and removing himself from the grid.
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