And Speaking of Blowing....

Happy Valentine's Day, Friends!

I hope you're having a lover-ly one and thought that today would be a good day to talk about love, destiny and the winds of change. Minus the love and destiny part.

Today's post isn't about me ::gasp:: it's about my super-cool Aunt Anita and Uncle Jim. You know what they did last year? They installed a windmill on their property! How awesome is that?

Now before you start thinking that AA and UJ are super-rich or uber-eco, let me tell you, they are as average as the rest of us. They live in a modest, but beautifully restored farmhouse in upstate New York. Uncle Jim worked for the local paper mill for many years and Aunt Anita raised four sons and a daughter.

But back to the Don Quixote side of the story. Aunt Anita has been keeping me in the loop with their wind-blown activities and she sent me the following information and told me I could share it with you all.

I thought you'd like to know that last month we produced more electricity than we used (800 kWh) so all we owe National Grid this month is the $16.00 equipment use fee that everyone has to pay to be hooked to the grid. That was our first full month with the windmill in use so we are very pleased. At the time the meter was read we had about 40 KWH stored on the grid. That's not the case at this time but we still have a few weeks before the meter is read again so if we get enough windy days we might have another good month. If only I could find a way to dry clothes in the winter??? The dryer uses about 5 kWh a load and on wash day it really drives up the usage. I guess this summer I'm going to be using my clotheline for something other than a place for the birds to perch.

Yeah, that's right, everybody in my family is a comedian. ;-)

Anyhow, Aunt Anita was kind enough to also pass along a link to Bergey Wind Power Company, the manufacturers of their wind turbine. The have a ton of information and FAQ's on wind power, so if you're interested check them out.

Also, did you know that there are a number of government programs, grants and tax deductions available to homeowners who implement alternative energy sources such as windmills and solar panels? Most of the money available for these programs are state funded, so do a Google search for "[Your State] grants windmill" or "[Your State] grant solar panels" to see what is available in your area.

I guess what I want you to understand is that you don't have to be a live-in-the-woods, eat-off-the-land, wear-animals-for-clothes and compost-your-own-feces type of environmentalist to go off-grid. But if you can't install your own windmill and the sun don't shine enough where you live, at least switch your energy supplier to a renewable energy source today! It's a lovely way to show how much you care -- about the planet.

Happy V-Day!
XXXOOO

'burbanmom