How to use solar / wind energy at home?
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I have been looking at this myself. I like two smaller and easy ways to get started.
One is to have a solar system put in and tie it into the grid. There are solar SHINGLES now, that look and are applied to the roof like regular shingles,(with normal wear) and are wired together and then tied down through the roof to the grid connection. If you need to reshingle anyway, and you are in a state that pays a rebate for renewables and then sell energy back to the power company when not using it yourself, plus not having to pay for battery system - the system can have a true breakeven or even a lower cost.
I also would like to have some small marine wind generators, to place in 'wind tunnel' type locations around my property. Although my region does not have strong enough winds, I think maybe some locations might have a better chance for a smaller wind system.
Put solar panels and windmills on the roof of your house
Solar panels are still very expensive for the amount of energy they produce, it will probably still be awhile before it makes economic sense to use them. I have heard that solar hot water heaters are a really good investment - not as expensive and will save you a lot of money.
I think wind power may be too big of a project for an individual homeowner. But if you have the right kind of property (lots of land in a windy enough area) your local government may pay you to let them use your land to build wind-power turbines. Something to look into.
If you are in a colder climate you can also use the suns energyto heat your home to an extent by facing the house in the correct (south east I think) direction, using large front windows with heat sinks like concrete floors , and overhangs...
I checked into it a while back but opted to move to the southwest instead
Photovoltaic panels are too expensive but that would be the way to go,
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