Should You Build a Wind Turbine?

If you have also been considering this same question, you no doubt want to take a closer look at what is involved in the building process and to determine if this is the right home energy project for your needs.

Your Home

When many people think of wind turbines, they think of huge windmills sitting on the open plains, but the fact is that you can build a wind turbine that is scaled down a bit in size. Of course, a turbine is not right for all homes, so there are a few factors to consider. You first want to consider the space you have available for such a structure. While you can build a smaller model, even a scaled-down model needs to be large enough to generate power for your home and, as such, will take up some space. You also want to consider how the wind blows in your area. Consider if there are trees that shield your home from most big gusts or if structures or other buildings are blocking most of the wind.

Your Energy Needs

You may be able to get a pretty good idea about what kind of energy you can generate if you build a wind turbine given typical wind speeds in your area as well as the space you have available for such a turbine. You will then want to compare this against your own home energy needs. In many cases, a wind turbine can provide adequate energy to cover most or even all of a home's needs, but often a back-up energy source will be needed or desired as wind energy is typically not a fully stable source of energy.

Combining This Source With Others

Many people who decided to build a wind turbine have also made an effort to build other energy projects, too. For instance, they may combine a wind turbine with solar panels on the roof of their home. You can do your best to analyze your own needs and estimate energy production from a turbine, and then you can analyze the numbers to see if additional energy sources might be needed to completely take your home off the grid and live off of free, green energy.