Alternative Energy is the use of energy sources other than one that come from within the Earth. These are usually thought of as Fossil fuels. Fossil fuels must be mined from the Earth and are usually not renewable in nature. There are alternatives to using fossil fuels to heat our homes and provide residential energy. The most popular options are residential wind power and home solar energy systems.

The ever increasing population of the world makes it necessary to look at the limited resource of fossil fuels and start thinking about what we are going to use instead. As more people inhabit the Earth we eat more food, and consume more and more electricity, thereby depleting the amount of fossil fuels available. It also increases the amount of pollution sent into the atmosphere from the fossil fuels.

It is astounding the amount of green house gases that are currently being emitted into the atmosphere. These green house gases are a side effect of using fossil fuels for energy. When fossil fuels are burned they send out carbon dioxide. This is what is known as a greenhouse gas. It causes the heat from sun to be unable to leave the atmosphere, thus warming the temperature of the Earth. This is also known as global warming. There are ways to alleviate this problem, including using eco friendly energy sources for our homes, as well as our country.

Alternative and renewable source of energy is therefore a necessity. Renewable energy is derived from resources that are regenerative or regenerate after consumption. For this reason, renewable energy unlike fossil fuels do not produce as many greenhouse gases. There are several countries that are providing incentives for private sector or personal efforts to use renewable energy by giving tax incentives and subsidies. Currently, just 14 percent of the worlds energy consumption comes from renewable energy sources. But there is great potential for alternative energy. It could be large enough to cover many times the current energy consumption.

Have you thought about running your house on wind power electricity or even solar energy for home? If you haven't because you thought the cost would be prohibitive you are quite wrong. There are now systems in place that will allow you to use a home wind power generator and will teach you how to build solar panels for your home, many times for under $200.

If you live in a very windy area you may find learning how to build wind power generators a great way to provide your household with quite a bit of renewable energy. Wind power may not be able to cover all of your energy needs, but combined with a home solar energy system you have all the energy needs you can come up with covered. In fact, you may end up with enough energy to sell some back to the grid and earn a little extra.

A home solar energy system is a great way to increase the amount of electricity available to your home. Using it in combination with wind energy or alone solar energy will provide you with ample energy to run a household.

Are you ready to learn how to live off grid? Are you ready to be the first home in the neighborhood with solar panels and maybe a wind turbine? You may think it's out of your reach, but new technologies are coming forth that are more affordable, and easy enough for the "weekend warrior" to build professional quality panels and turbines. Is it going to be you?