Im building a new home in the next 2-4 years (assuming there is relative peace and tranquility) and am contemplating alternative energy sources to supplement our energy needs. I think I use around 8kwh now. (does that sound right?) I live in Western NY State and the weather may be a factor. Lots of snow in the winter and not a whole lot of sunshine annually. My land does get about 12 mph wind (annually average) according to awstruewind.com. Im leaning toward wind but would like to hear any other ideas. Also any factors to consider with wind post SHTF such as a 100 ft tall "I have power" beacon? Any info regarding other sources, manufacturers, building/layout ideas, legal/zoning issues, etc. would be appreciated. Thanks!!!

Having power would put you and your homestead in a position of leadership in the community. Personally, I think that anyone with post-SHTF electricity would be putting a lot of it to work running workshops that people would be using to fabricate other wind and water flow generators from parts scavenged from vehicles and scrap metal.

If you want power inverters and battery management electronics super super cheap, then go to your local computer recycle place if you have one and get UPCs with bad batteries, 600 watt or better. I picked up a 12 volt 600 watt unit for free, and a 24 volt 1200 watt unit for $5. You usually cannot tell the actual voltage until you get it apart, and finding out the big one was a 24 volt unit was a bit of a dissappointment, but I am going to wire it up to run on larger external batteries, and then have to do some checking on the solar systems to see if I can run the system off a smaller inverter. The best way to go is a 12 volt 1200 watt or better system since it already has charge controller electronics and the necessary inverters built in. 1200 watts will run most electronic equipment and smaller power tools, but not a bigger table saw or welder.

An associate of mine runs 5 houses on converted power from Direct current to Alternating current, he uses surplus glass mat phone batteries, the system is 48 volts DC but if you buy brand new quality batteries and cycle them you will only get 5 years max out of them but if you run the batteries on what is called the float which on the 48 volt system is actually run between 54 volts at the top and recharge at 52 volts my associates battery system is over 20 years old and still going strong.

Increased voltage and running batteries on the float is an affordable system, strict 12 volt systems cost a great deal over the long term as much as 10$ a watt on average, the higher voltage systems can have multiple means of charging, my friend uses generator, photo cells and hydro and wind to keep the system on the float charge even with heavy load of five homes.

I lived in WNY for many years and a neighbor had a wind turbine down the road from me. He was always known as "the guy with the windmill". Post SHTF it will stand out even more just like you said.

For some reason he used it to augment his power instead of charging batteries. From what he said and some stuff I've read they seem to have issues with longevity. If I were to use a wind turbine I'd probably rig it up to be able to go up at night and down during the daytime. This would make repairs easier than climbing a 100 foot pole too. It will still make noise though at night which may or may not be a problem for you.

If you're looking at running your home just off wind power you will need a large windmill or many smaller ones.

One of those windmills outside Warsaw would be nice to have lol.

Diversity is best. Solar and wind combined. With the low angle winter sun you will still get some juice and the wind gen will be a good supplement and vise versa when the wind is calm. The phone company batteries are great but in a pinch any battery designed for the discharge and recharge cycles those go through will do as well ..like golf cart batteries and such. Regular deep cycle and auto batteries wont last long and may burst just an FYI.

On a side note I watched a show on one of the sci or discovery channels a while back and they were showing a solar wind generator in Europe which was basically using the heat from the sun to cause a strong updraft to power wind turbines at the ground level entrances. It was really just a round greenhouse with a stack. I often thought of trying to design one to a smaller scale. I think one could also mount solar panels on it to get both charges going.

Hey Strat, what's "glass mat phone batteries", and what is a "float system"?

8000 watts used per hour might be a good average usage number. The average for my home is 6000 watts average usage.

To maintain that amount of power usage, you and me, would take more than wind and/or solar to provide it. At times you will pull much less than 8000 watts per hour and other times much more. Like the power companies you too must build your system based on peak usage. This will get expensive.

Let's say you have the dryer running, about 25 amps when the heating element is on, the water heater is on, 4500 watt element = about 18/19 amps, electric stove going will use another 15 to 50 amps depending on number of elements on and settings, and your base load of lights, tv's, fan's, clocks, computers, etc. will add another 5 to 10 amps. So your peak usage would be in the range of 63 to 104 amps of peak usage. If you use say 75 amps as your peak usage, your system would have to handle an 18Kwh load. That is a lot of power from wind and solar!

So, without changing how you use energy for any moment in time, solar and wind, in most cases will only supplement your power usage.