Wind Power Electricity

Wind powered electricity for homes is a great idea - - in theory. Wind is one of the cleanest renewable resources of which we know. It`s relatively easy to harvest and the technology is fairly easy to acquire and apply. So then, you can just trot down to your local hardware store or online store, slap down your money, call a contractor and have wind powered generators pumping out free wind power electricity for your home by the end of the month. Right? Yeeeaaah, right. In reality, wind turbine generated electricity for the home is a very mixed proposition. As with any home project, (more serious than a school science fair project) there are many variables. Mishandling any one of these variables could spell failure. For example, assuring an economically viable return on investment (ROI) rate for the installation is very important. This isn`t to say that there aren`t compelling non-economic/environmental reasons for implementing a wind power home. For instance, large commercial wind power farms have proven very financially successful and also remain on course to significantly reduce collective CO2 emissions. However, commercial market wind energy turbines are very expensive because they are engineered for customers that demand MAXIMUM reliability. Industry and quality standards are very rigorously controlled. Why? Simple. Early component failures can affect an entire install base of possibly hundreds (or thousands) of machines. Repair becomes a maintenance nightmare and a potential financial disaster (think Toyota). Commercial customers can`t and won`t tolerate that kind of unreliable product performance. In truth, neither should a homeowner. Unfortunately, the same quality demands and dynamics do not exist in the wind turbines for homes market (at least not yet). Fly by night manufacturers (and contractors), operate on a "caveat emptor" (let the buyer beware) basis because the market is so young, unregulated and full of easy prey. Many home owners simply don`t realize that it`s the windpower projecty west out there and there are no standards to protect them from unreliable machines, poor workmanship or bad engineering.