Residential Wind Power

Harnessing the Power of the Wind

The wind has a long history of providing humans with power—though much of it has been as kinetic energy.  From the wind in the sails that allowed people to travel and explore the world, to windmills that powered water pumps, wind has always been a staple of power and movement.

More recently, technology has found the way to turn the kinetic energy of the wind into actual electrical energy to power our homes. If you’ve ever driven through some of the flat farmlands of Kansas, you may have seen wind farms in the distance.  These “farms” house hundreds of wind turbines that can generate enough electricity to power an entire city!

What you may not know is that wind turbines much like these are available to homeowners and businesses.  Wind energy systems are terrific sources of electricity in rural areas and farms where there are less restrictions in ordinances than in more suburban areas. 

Wind energy systems work by installing a tall tower with rotating blades at the top, creating what is called a turbine.  These turbine blades rotate in the wind and create an electrical charge.  Even if it seems like there is no wind at ground level, the winds that are consistent just a little above ground are more than enough to sustain a wind turbine.

Energy that comes out of a wind turbine does not match the power from your utility. In order to make it usable electricity, it first must be conditioned with the use of an inverter. 

An inverter is simply a system that conditions the turbine power to match utility voltage and frequency supplying 230 volt power to your circuit breaker panel.

Technology has taken us from using the wind to discover new worlds to lighting our homes after the sun has gone down. It’s time to consider this clean, renewable energy for all of your power needs.