Saturday, November 7, 2009

Alternative Energy- What Are Your Options?


There is a lot of information floating around about the benefits of using alternative energy.  But what does that mean exactly? And how can you benefit by saving money and helping the environment?

There are many types of alternative sources of energy.  Some of the most common and well known are: wind power and solar power. You could use one or a combination of both. Here are a few pros and cons of each source of energy.

1. Wind power. 

You've probably driven by a huge field of giant wind mill looking things.  These windmills are called wind turbines.  They create and store electricity.  The good thing about this source of energy is that it's free, abundant, and completely 'green'. 

The bad thing about turbines is that you will need a lot of them to power your home and they do take up quite a bit of room.Now though, with better technology, there is the possibility of building your own home rooftop wind turbines and it is very easy to find out everything you need to know about wind turbines.

2. Solar energy.  

Solar panels convert the energy of the sun into usable electricity.  The pros of solar energy is that it's clean, renewable, and free.

The cons are that you need sunlight so some climates won't provide as much electricity as others and you will need many solar panels in order to get a lot of energy.

If you can ever get to the point where you can generate more electricity than you need you can actually make money by selling your excess electricity back to the power companies.  It would be nice for a change to have them pay you, wouldn't it?

The bottom line is that using some of these alternative energy sources can help you lower your utility bill, help out the environment, and if you have enough room you could actually generate enough electricity to go 'off the grid' entirely and not have to pay for electricity at all.

If you want to read more about alternative energy, your options and wind turbines, go to:

Everything you need to know about wind turbines

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