Easy Breezy

The idea behind wind power seems simple enough: Install a residential-sized turbine on a house and the owner receives clean, renewable energy when the wind blows hard enough. Pretty straightforward stuff. With this simple and increasingly popular technology, individuals can generate their own power and cut their energy bills while helping to protect the environment, says the American Wind Energy Association, a Washington, DC-based group that advocates for wind power. In a typical residential application, the wind turbine is connected to the home and the grid, powering the home and sending the excess power back to the utility company, says the NAHB Research Center in Upper Marlboro, MD. Consumer Reports wrote in 2011 that early tests of one wind turbine the organization was monitoring suggested a homeowner could save far less than the manufacturer claims -- and wait decades for your investment to pay for itself.