Wind Power For Dummies

The consumer guide to small-scale wind electricity production! Maybe you're not T. Boone Pickens, but you can build your own home-sized wind-power empire right in your back yard. Wind Power For Dummies supplies all the guidance you need to install and maintain a sustainable, cost-effective wind generator to power your home for decades to come. This authoritative, plain-English guide walks you through every step of the process, from assessing your site and available wind sources to deciding whether wind power is the solution for you, from understanding the mechanics of wind power and locating a contractor to install your system to producing your own affordable and sustainable electricity. Guides you step by step through process of selecting, installing, and operating a small-scale wind generator to power your home Demystifies system configurations, terminology, and wind energy principles to help you speak the language of the pros Helps assess and reduce your energy needs and decide whether wind power is right for you Explains the mechanics of home-based wind power Shows you how to tie into the grid and sell energy back to the power company Offers advice on evaluating all of the costs of and financing for your project Provides tips on working with contractors and complying with local zoning laws Yes, you can do it, with a little help from Wind Power For Dummies.

The consumer guide to small-scale wind electricity production! Maybe you're not T. Boone Pickens, but you can build your own home-sized wind-power empire right in your back yard. Wind Power For Dummies supplies all the guidance you need to install and maintain a sustainable, cost-effective wind generator to power your home for decades to come. This authoritative, plain-English guide walks you through every step of the process, from assessing your site and available wind sources to deciding whether wind power is the solution for you, from understanding the mechanics of wind power and locating a contractor to install your system to producing your own affordable and sustainable electricity. Guides you step by step through process of selecting, installing, and operating a small-scale wind generator to power your home Demystifies system configurations, terminology, and wind energy principles to help you speak the language of the pros Helps assess and reduce your energy needs and decide whether wind power is right for you Explains the mechanics of home-based wind power Shows you how to tie into the grid and sell energy back to the power company Offers advice on evaluating all of the costs of and financing for your project Provides tips on working with contractors and complying with local zoning laws Yes, you can do it, with a little help from Wind Power For Dummies.

The consumer guide to small-scale wind electricity production! Maybe you're not T. Boone Pickens, but you can build your own home-sized wind-power empire right in your back yard. Wind Power For Dummies supplies all the guidance you need to install and maintain a sustainable, cost-effective wind generator to power your home for decades to come. This authoritative, plain-English guide walks you through every step of the process, from assessing your site and available wind sources to deciding whether wind power is the solution for you, from understanding the mechanics of wind power and locating a contractor to install your system to producing your own affordable and sustainable electricity. * Guides you step by step through process of selecting, installing and operating a small-scale wind generator to power your home * Demystifies system configurations, terminology and wind energy principles to help you speak the language of the pros * Helps assess and reduce your energy needs and decide whether wind power is right for you * Explains the mechanics of home-based wind power * Shows you how to tie into the grid and sell energy back to the power company * Offers advice on evaluating all of the costs of and financing for your project * Provides tips on working with contractors and complying with local zoning laws Yes, you can do it, with a little help from Wind Power For Dummies.

This textbook is intended to provide an introduction to the cross-disciplinary field of wind engineering. It includes end-of-chapter tutorial sections (solutions manual available) and combines both academic and industrial experience.

Want to take advantage of solar power in your home? Whether you’re looking to save on your energy costs by adding a few solar components or you want to build a solar-powered house from the ground up, Solar Power For Dummies takes the mystery out of this energy source and shows you how to put it to work for you! This friendly, hands-on guide is packed with tips for making your home more energy-efficient though solar power—and helping the planet at the same time. You’ll see how to survey your home to determine your current household energy efficiency and use, and evaluate where solar power would best benefit you. You’ll also calculate what the return on your investment will be before you make any decisions. Once you’ve decided on a project, you’ll see whether it’s best to hire a contractor or do it yourself. We leave no stone unturned—you’ll also discover how to: Choose and install your best solar system Handle small to large solar projects Heat and cool your house with solar energy Install exterior solar lighting Handle swimming pool, water heater, or ventilation solar projects Create greenhouses or solar rooms Build, buy, or sell a solar home Finance your solar investments Take advantage of tax rebates and incentives associated with solar power Avoid the worst solar mistakes Featuring ten of the easiest and cheapest do-it-yourself solar projects, Solar Power For Dummies is the fun and easy way to meet your energy needs with this clean power source!

An illustrated guide to building and installing a wind turbine and understanding how the energy in moving air is transformed into electricity.

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO BUILDING A SMALL WIND POWER SYSTEM FROM THE GROUND UP Written by renewable energy experts, this hands-on resource provides the technical information and easy-to-follow instructions you need to harness the wind and generate clean, safe, and reliable energy for on-site use. Build Your Own Small Wind Power System shows you how to install a grid-connected or off-grid residential-scale setup. Get tips for evaluating your site for wind power potential, obtaining permits, financing your project, selecting components, and assembling and maintaining your system. Pictures, diagrams, charts, and graphs illustrate each step along the way. You'll also find out how you can help promote wind-friendly public policies locally. Save money and reduce your carbon footprint with help from this practical guide. COVERAGE INCLUDES: Challenges and impacts of small wind energy Electricity, energy, and wind science Determining if wind power is right for you Site assessment Financing small wind power Permits and zoning Wind turbine fundamentals Choosing the right wind turbine for the job Balance of system: batteries, inverters, and controllers Installation, maintenance, and troubleshooting Future developments in wind power

Helps readers understand and appreciate what the history of wind power can teach us about technology innovation and provides the implications for both wind power today and its future This book takes readers on a journey through the history of wind power in order to show how the technology evolved over the course of the twentieth century and where it may be headed in the twenty-first century. It introduces and examines broad themes such as government funding of wind power, the role of fossil fuels in wind power development, and the importance of entrepreneurs in wind power development. It also discusses the lessons learned from wind power technology innovation and makes them relevant to the understanding of wind power today and in the future. Spanning the entire history of wind power (1888-2018), The Wind Power Story: A Century of Innovation that Reshaped the Global Energy Landscape provides balanced coverage of each decade as well as the important wind power technology innovations that occurred during that time. Compelling from the first page to the last, it offers chapters covering the pioneers of wind power; the age of small wind; wind power in the wake of war; wind power’s use across Europe; government-funded research programs; how Denmark reinvented wind power in the 1970s; the California Wind Rush of the 1980s; wind power’s rise in Spain; America’s wind power starting in the 1990s; India’s wind power path; the wind power surge in China; the globalization of wind power; and much more. In addition, this text: Spans the entire global history of wind power, while weaving together both the historical context and the technical details of wind power innovation Provides historical context for wind power developments and explains the evolution of wind turbine technology in an easy-to-understand manner Discusses the policy, technology, and market evolution of wind power in commonly understood language Offers a review of the surrounding power technology, policy, and market environment throughout the history of wind power A book that both specialists and non-specialists can read in order to understand and appreciate the past, present, and future of wind power technology, The Wind Power Story: A Century of Innovation that Reshaped the Global Energy Landscape will be of great interest to any engineer and any interested readers looking to understand wind power technologies, markets, and policies in one book.