[skeet]

Built a wind generator years ago. Still have all those mother earth news mags too...starting at number one. GOB if you want to help your electric bill what has been said is pretty much true. If you want to make electricity to store in batteries ..you can use an inverter. Will work in the garage for some low uses of power. At the last time I checked The cost for a whole house solar and wind powdered system the cost is approx 35-40 thousand. There is a company that will set you up and finance the whole thing and after a few(10??)years it will be paid for and you will have free electricity...but you have to pay the bill every month while it is paying for itself. What they in effect do is set up a solar wind system that feeds your house and back into the grid. You pay the bill every month at the current rate and the electric company pays them for excess produced until eventually the system is paid for and you will earn free electricity..but by that time the useful life of the system is more than half over..and then repairs are up to you. The one thing you get out of such a system is the fact that you are "helping" the environment..maybe!! As the old saw goes..there ain't no such thing as a free lunch Tanstaafl. To make an effective wind generator to power some items in your house you will need a minimum of at least 10 deep cycle batteries..more like 20 is much better. The one I set up years ago worked ok but I had 30 batteries but not deep cycle so they didn't hold as good a charge..But the batteries were free.