Are your power bills constantly increasing? If you are using the same number of kilowatts but paying more for them, you’re not alone. For many years, consumers had no affordable alternative. Fortunately there are now choices that the individual homeowner or business owner can implement. There is an initial investment, but in the long run, you’ll end up paying much less for your electricity.

The environmental movement is also helping to make these alternative means of generating energy viable. Sustainable energy technologies, such as solar and wind power, do not produce greenhouse gasses which are so harmful to the environment. For this reason, governments and other organizations are contributing funds toward the improvement of these technologies. There are also tax incentives for individuals who are willing to invest.

This all sounds good but before you invest in sustainable energy you will need to understand the costs and the savings in your particular situation. If ‘average figures’ are even available, they’re worthless to you. There’s no such thing as the average household. Many factors impact the energy generation and consumption as well as the costs involved. Fortunately there are good online energy calculators out there. They can take your information and calculate the investment and the savings of different types of sustainable energy.

Solar and wind power are currently the most popular forms of renewable energy used in homes. The climate of often the factor that determines which of the two will be more effective for you.

A lot of sunlight is needed for photovoltaic cells in solar panels to generate significant amounts of electricity. In order for this to be cost effective, the solar panels must be placed in an area where they will get as much sunlight as possible throughout the day. Sunny climates are much better than rainy climates for solar energy. The exact location of your home will play a part too. If your roof gets a lot of shade from trees, buildings or anything else, the amount of electricity generated will be reduced. Also, having enough roof space that faces south, or relatively south, is important. Until recently the costs of installation were too high to make solar power cost effective for homes. Fortunately prices have come down significantly and many homeowners are finding that the cost savings outweigh the investment.

Wind power can be a great choice, especially if your location does not get enough sunlight. To determine whether wind power will be cost effective for you, you’ll need to investigate whether there is sufficient wind where you live to power a turbine, how much power you will get from the size of turbine which you can afford and whether you have space for such a turbine. The investment costs of wind power have come down a lot over the last few decades, much like solar has. The turbines are also much more efficient than in the past and will make more electricity from the same amount of wind.

Just like any other home improvement projects, you can save money if you’re handy and are willing to do the work yourself. You can build solar panels yourself from scratch if you know what you’re doing or are willing to learn. For a little more money you can buy kits that have all the parts and instructions. Wind turbines can be homemade too, but that works better with micro turbines. Installing a large turbine is better done with professional help. There are many sites on the internet that can help you learn how to build and/or install solar or wind power systems.

Whatever you decide to do, you’ll save money in the long run, be energy independent, and help the environment.