Many years ago, wind power was commonly used for domestic purposes. Don Cervantes tilted at windmills that were being used for domestic purposes. In the British colonial era, wind generators were used to charge batteries that powered radios and allowed people to keep in touch with the powerful wartime speeches of Winston Churchill. Across the world many derelict steel windmills rust and collapse beside the tanks and reservoirs that they once pumped full of water. These are the forerunners of modern wind power for homes.
Wind power was, ironically, pushed into disuse by industrialization and its accompanying technological advances during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. When vast lakes of oil were discovered in America and the Middle East early in the twentieth century, emphasis fell on fossil fuels and the technology that enabled them to be exploited. As huge beds of coal were mined night and day to fuel power stations little thought was given to the clouds of coal smoke fouling the skies.
At the height of the era of unbridled ‘development’, emphasis was on how to grow faster and more powerfully. The emphasis on growth meant that technicians and scientists dismissed any suggestions of alternative energy resources impatiently. Environmental concerns were scornfully dismissed as the ranting of ‘bunny huggers’. In a very short space of time, attitudes have done an about turn. It is now the developers who are in the minority. Now, it is fashionable and politically correct to think in terms of sustainable development and renewable energy resources.
When the current generation of sixty-year-olds were born, the word ‘green’ meant a color and was used to suggest a sickly feeling associated with overindulgence. In the intervening decades, the meaning has altered. Now, the word is associated with environmental concerns and the new industries associated with them. The new meanings for the word have been accompanied by a transformation in attitudes.
At a time when many old industries are flagging, ‘green industries’ are on the rise, inspiring hope for fresh opportunities that may rejuvenate the world economy. At the root of the new industries is acceptance of the principle that energy and resource conservation is dependent on the combined efforts of millions of individuals.
Technological developments have enabled the use of new turbines which are the descendants of those old metal windmills rusting in the countryside. It is possible to feed the contributions into national grids or to use them as individual appliances that perform certain functions, thus reducing demands on the national grid. Those who dismissed the adequacy of wind tide and solar energy did not reckon with social transformation that supports technological development.
The new generation of mills is termed turbines and they are made from space-age-improved materials. At the slightest puff of wind, they rotate, but in controlled ways, ensuring maximum efficiency. They can generate from 500w to 50 kW, fixed by the home owner to an exposed spot on his property.
Much information about the latest wind power for homes may be obtained from online websites. Different models are available, generally at reasonable prices. They can be used off grid to power appliances such as refrigerators and computers, thus reducing demands on the national grid. They may also be connected to the national grid, and so reduce the cost of electricity to the home owner. For the environmentally concerned, they are not only a status symbol but a source of intellectual satisfaction, as they work effortlessly to produce clean free energy.
M.S. Rochell is the owner of Go-Green-Solar-Energy.com which offers education and inspiration on the benefits of going green with solar energy, DIY solar power, and affordable solar energy solutions. Please visit for more on wind power for home and to receive our free Affordable Solar Energy eBooks.
Home wind turbine via tswind