Windmills are everywhere now it seems. To build a wind turbine for your use at home is not as hard as you might think at first.

Actually, it is quite straightforward. With the advent of wind turbine kits, building a wind device at your house is no more complicated than any other DIY home project.

Our motivation is this - as oil and natural gas supplies are being used up, we have no choice but to use the energy supplied by nature to run out homes and businesses. As countries like China buy-in to an American consumer society, energy resources are being eaten through at an increasingly alarming pace. Until something better comes along, wind energy is probably the easiest to tap.

It is obvious that this is not a fad. As more and more people and governments invest in this technology, prices will continue to drop. Government incentives, like the current federal tax credit for renewable energy investment, are leading the way - making more and more sense to put up a wind generator even in areas where there is light wind (5-6 mph).

Learning how to build a wind turbine for your home can give you a real leg up on supplying your own energy, before supplies of traditional fossil fuels dry up.

If you decide to construct a windmill for your home, either from a kit or by buying one of the many plans out there, you are taking your energy future into your own hands. Once you get a taste of energy independence, you will want more and more of it - either through employing more wind technology or, setting up other ways to save and drop your cost, like using solar panels.

Building and installing a windmill for your home is not that hard if you have done projects requiring some mechanical ability before or, are you are confident at doing other home repair type projects. The internet is chocked-full of plans that you can use, like earth 4 energy, to build your own from scratch. The materials you will need are available at almost any hardware store or Home Depot.

Before you set out on your trek to set up a windmill at home though, there are 2 things you have to check out:

1. Do you have enough wind to generate the power you are expecting the windmill to produce?

There are maps available from the U.S. government that will show you patterns of wind around the country. They are very high-level though and to know if wind power will work for you, it is best to assess your own local wind situation.

The best way to do that is with an "anemometer". An anemometer is a device that measures wind strength and direction. They are available from Amazon and elsewhere for $25-$50, either in an old school analog presentation (the little cups that spin around in a circle) or, in a digital format, where the device looks a lot like a handheld computer.

2. Will my neighborhood and community allow me to put a windmill on my property? Many communities and neighborhoods consider wind turbines eyesores. This is certainly an outdated view of reality but it is still the case in many places, so you must check this out first. Otherwise, you could invest a lot of time and money only to find out you will be forced to take your shiny new wind turbine down.

Once you've checked out those 2 angles, you are ready to start making electricity.

Basically, there are 2 good paths you can take to get up and running:

1. Buy a kit (modularized sections)

2. Buy plans from one of the many vendors on the internet and build your windmill from scratch

Good kits are made by a number of reputable companies, including: WindEnergy7, Bergey, and Windspot. The kits cost anywhere from $6,000-$15,000 and allow you to still have a hand in the construction but without all the hand tools.

If you buy plans and go the complete DIY route, be prepared for a lot longer lead time to get up and running but the journey will probably be a lot more rewarding in the long-run. You have find, buy, cut to size, etc. Certainly, a lot more trouble but to each his own.

The main thing is to get a qualified contractor to erect and probably a different one to do the electrical tie-in to your house.

In either case, if you build a wind turbine you cannot ultimately go wrong if you stick with it till completion… AND you will be making a tremendous stride toward your version of energy independence!