Creative Ideas for Self-Power Generation

Solar Power

• Solar cells are expensive to purchase and install but don't use any fuel and last for 20 to 30 years. With a battery bank for storage, you can cover most of the non-heating requirements of a small home. Grid-connected solar power can be attractive depending on your location. Some utilities will pay for power you send back into the grid.

Wind Power

• Wind power is less expensive to install but does have some maintenance costs. Installations in areas where the average wind speed is over 10 mph can be financially attractive. Electricity from wind can be stored in batteries to achieve semi-independence from the electric grid but the system can also be designed to be grid-connected so that surplus power can be sold back to the electric utility.

Small Hydro

• Small hydro-electric installations are less common because they require a continuously flowing stream to which the property owner has the water rights. Such property owners can dam the creek and install a hydro-electric generator on site, or they can pipe the water to a more convenient location and install a water turbine to generate power from the flow.

Gas Engines

• Commercial internal combustion engines burning diesel or gasoline have long been available as back-up generators. A cleaner and less expensive alternative is an internal combustion engine burning natural gas. The gas burns without corrosive exhaust fumes and leaves less residue in the cylinders. An added advantage of such engines is that water used for cooling the engine is available to heat the house or for hot water heating.

Gas Turbines

• Small turbines based on those used to turbocharge car engines have made their way to market as small power generators burning natural gas. Less efficient than internal combustion engines but more compact, they can also provide hot water for home or hot water heating.

Fuel Cells

• Several types of fuel cells are available commercially. The most promising is the solid oxide fuel cell that turns natural gas and air into heat and electricity. The cell uses the heat produced to heat itself to operating temperature and to heat internal water to produce steam needed for the reaction. This solution is suitable for larger loads such as those of small businesses or farms.