Power 4 Home

Hi every -one

Was wondering if any one has bought the ( Power 4 home books and videos ) , ( how to make your own power etc... ) advertised on this page ...?????
and on the home pages of the forum ...
If so is it worth it ??????
thanks Stormy68

Have look into home power generation. Wind is a waste of time for most people - they simply don't have the windiness required (you need your generator on a high tower) and most of our cities are not particularly windy. The blades ones are also far too dangerous (IMHO) for a backyard - though the Helix/Helical vertical look rather safer (but quite expensive - http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/11/08/helix-wind-turbine-small-wind-gets-smart/). I'ld consider these if I live near the coast (or on a hill without trees) and a big back yard - our yard is big but full of very big trees.

Solar - turns out you can get really cheap systems commercially under the new government rebate scheme. State solar services (statesolarservices.com.au) will install a 1.5KW system for $2,499 - that should generate about $5 a week in power or about a 10% return on your money (tax free). If the infeed tariff goes ahead that (and you don't use much power during the day) you will be looking at more like $25 a week (in theory) which could translate into a rather fantastic 50% return. I'm looking at getting one of these (hey it might help the planet and also make me richer ).

I can't really see you being able to do much better on price building it yourself - I've priced panels on ebay etc and the commercial deals are pretty close to the best you could do yourself and then you have to sort the rebates out (which is a minefield).