Do it Yourself Alternative Energy Solutions.


Do You Want to Build a Solar Panel? Or Wind Powered Generator?


If you are searching for ways to save money on utility bills, or are concerned about the long term effects of our energy usage on the environment- then you should consider a renewable energy solution for your home or place of business.
Alternative energy solutions and technologies remain, for the moment at least, beyond mass marketing. However, you and other small end users can still employ low cost alternative energy methods to reduce energy consumption, and consequently, energy bills.

These guides will introduce you to systems which are affordable, and with the instructions contained within, are easy to implement.

 

To assist you in creating an energy efficient living environment, we have reviewed five of the most popular guides on how you can become energy independent and live a "greener" lifestyle. Our UNBIASED ratings are based on the completeness of information and diagrams, availability of suggested materials, and customer support.

Using Renewable Energy Saves Us Over $4000 a Year!

 

We have been using renewable energy for about 3 years now for our home and what we can honestly tell you is that we are paying less than $50 a month in TOTAL energy costs for a 3000sq ft home. The only reason we haven't completely eliminated the electric bill is because we have not yet built any additional solar panels or erected any more wind generators. However, this is something we plan to do in the very near future.

Since we were paying around $300-$400 a month to the power company, we were able to recoup the cost of the guide and materials in the first month! And when your neighbors find out how well it's working for you then trust me, they will want to know how you did it. To tell you the truth we were skeptical in the beginning like you might be right now, but since we started doing this we have become the truest of believers because we know it works! And the best part is you can easily you can do this yourself!

Russ H.


Russ and Sher

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Why Should You Go Green?

There are economic reasons and environmental reasons for living off the grid. Obviously, saving money on energy bills is the primary reason many choose to fund their own alternative energy program. There is no better feeling knowing that you are generating your own electricity with something you made yourself, and helping the environment in the process. There are many forms of alternative energy; wind and solar power are by far the most common and easiest solutions for the average homeowner. If you are considering an alternative energy source for your home or business then this is a good place to start.

Resources

  • U.S. Wind Resource Map
  • U.S. Solar Resource Map
  • American Wind Energy Association
  • N.E.S.E.A.
  • Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment

  • Link to Us

    Other Green Energy Products



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    • 1Earth4Energy

    Our #1 Choice for the Best Overall Package!



    When we went shopping for alternative energy do-it-yourself guides, we quickly realized that there were many to choose from.  After many days of painstaking research we managed to narrow the choices down to what we felt were the best five on the market, then rated those from 1-5.

    We were particularly impressed with the Earth4Energy package and have chosen to feature it as our #1 product. This is a guide that not only offers the most complete, up to date information. But which also provides you with lots of appreciated extras as well.

    The guide was written with the average consumer in mind, meaning you don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand the text and diagrams.  The guide is complete and provides all the information you need to get the project up and running in no time at all. We chose to build a solar panel and found the on site parts links helpful in locating everything we needed for the project. You may be able to find the parts cheaper if you shop around, but we felt it was a good idea nonetheless to have that information readily available to us right on the product download page.

    After we built a few solar panels for our home, we decided not to stop there. We followed the instructions provided for building a solar panel for our RV as well. Now how cool is that? It's nice to know we can shut that noisy generator off and enjoy natures peace and quiet while getting our power from the sun! Micheal's guide explains clearly how to do that as well.

    In addition to the actual manual, the site features other bonus materials including a step by step comprehensive guide on creating your own bio diesel, and a guide on reconditioning batteries.  You can also have the entire guide sent to you on a CD if you prefer to keep a permanent hard copy of the product on disc.

    Earth4Energy is one of the most popular alternative energy guides on the market, and for good reason we suspect. Overall, I found the guide to be an excellent resource which covered every detail that we needed to complete our project.  Emails to the site were returned in an acceptable amount of time.
    Overall a great product and one of the most popular alternative energy guides on the market.

    Earth4Energy Testimonials

    Earth4Energy FAQ


    Price $49.97 for all 5 ebooks.

    5 of 55 of 5 starsVisit Site

    2Efficient Planet

    When you compare alternative energy guides you might find a lot of them contain basically the same type of information.
    Efficient Planet is one of those guides that offer a comprehensive solution for those wanting to generate their own power.
    The Efficient Planet team has come up with a very thorough and complete guide with all the diagrams and information you need to get your project off the ground. And if you need help, they are there for you.

    Their guides include manuals for building a solar power system and a wind power system. Also you will receive the efficient living bible which is 50 pages of information that shows you easy ways to save money every single day. Simple things like the types of light bulbs to use, and common sense stuff that will help you reduce your energy usage.

    The guides we received were well laid out with step by step, fully illustrated plans that you can use to easily construct your own power system. The guides were easy for the layman to follow; in other words you don't need to be an electrical or mechanical engineer to put a plan like this into action.
    The guides also included important information on what to do before starting, so that you can design and build a system for your home that will last for many years to come.

    When compared to our first choice, Efficient Planet comes up a little short. We like the guide, and found it to be complete in every way. But this one doesn't offer all the little extras you find in Earth4Energy for example. But still a good buy nonetheless.

    Price $49.97.

    4 of 54 of 5 starsVisit Site

    3Off Grid Living

    Off grid living has been around for some time and is considered one of the original players in the alternative energy market. One of the problems many people run into is simply not being able to find all of the necessary information they need to put their alternative energy plan into action. Off Grid Living is a site that exists to help people make the move and begin living off the grid. We found the folks at Off Grid Living to be very helpful every step of the way when we began our wind generation project. They offered us great advice and simple answers.
    Their guides included comprehensive, and easy to follow schematics on building a wind generator as part of a home power solution, and a whole host of information on how to build solar panel.
    Another useful part of the guide was information on how to make bio-diesel which you might use to run an auxiliary generator. On top of that, Off Grid Living included tips for building your own carbon neutral house and even a way to lay out your garden to be the most energy efficient and positive for the environment.
    Off Grid Living offers a good all around product. There is an active user forum which you may access to get one on one advice from others who have purchased the product.                           The only thing we would like to see are more video demonstrations.


    Price $49.97.

    4 of 54 of 5 starsVisit Site

    4Home Made Energy

    HomemadepowerplantHome Made Energy is another easy to follow guide with basic instructions for building a solar and/or wind generating system.
    Overall, we were satisfied with the information contained within the 44 page ebook. For some however, they may find this guide a bit oversimplified since the author seems to have written the guide with an assumption that the user has very little knowledge of power systems. But, that could be a good thing for some people. Not everyone has the same abilities and the author seem to compensate for that in his writing.
    The diagrams were easy to follow, and we were able to construct a very basic wind generator from scratch in one day with parts from our local hardware store for under $100.
    While it is a decent guide, in our opinion it does appear to be a knock off of some of the other alternative energy guides out there. It is also missing some essential details like the exact specifications for the motor/generator required for the wind turbine project.
    As for who this Bill Ford guy is, we aren't sure. But a question we asked was promptly answered by someone named Bill who is supposed to be a scientist and energy consultant. Overall it is a decent guide, and we would rather not have to listen to the annoying virtual sales girl on the website, but at least she can be muted.

    Price $47.00

    3 of 53 of 5 starsVisit Site

    5Free Energy Options

    freeenergyoptionsThe Free Energy Options Guide also contains step-by-step instructions that allow anyone with average "do it yourself" ability to implement their own renewable energy solution, usually for less than $200.
    Most reports we received from people indicated that they have been able to build a wind generator or solar panel with the guide and were overall very pleased with it.
    As with most other guides of this type the main generators you will learn how to build are solar and wind powered. There are various configurations available, complete with easy to follow diagrams.
    The main complaint we had with this guide were the lack of details concerning the construction of the windmill tower, but a bit of common sense and ingenuity will make up for this.
    The diagrams and schematics were complete, but I found some of them just a bit hard to follow. An email to the site was returned within 24 hours, which is a bit longer than we would like since most people are right in the middle of their project and want quick answers, but we realize not everyone lives in front of their computer.
    In addition to the actual instructions, the guide includes: general tips on how to save money on gas and electricity... as well as ways to reduce energy consumption by as much as 30%. It also provides information regarding the legal aspects and maintenance requirements for the generators.

    Price $48.95

    3 of 53 of 5 starsVisit Site

    Alternative Energy At Northern Tool