What is this all about anyway?

Don't think that home power generation will solve all the worlds energy problems. Don't think it's going to solve all of yours. What it will do is provide a tremendous feeling of accomplishment and pride over taking the first steps at being self sufficient. Not having a monthly power bill is a wonderful thing but unless you are adept at scrounging and making things yourself the bottom line is going to be more expensive over the life of the system. With good maintenance practices and care taken in not loading the system overly much, a decent home made power plant can last for a very long time. The weak point in the chain is the batteries. The current standard in home systems is using lead-acid batteries, commonly either "golf cart" or "deep cycle" type. Golf cart batteries and deep cycle batteries can handle the charge/drain cycles that will occur in the home system. regular car batteries are just not robust enough for this type of abuse. It is abuse as far as these batteries are concerned. They are designed to provide a huge amount of watts for a very short time, like when you are starting the car. They can handle a slow drain and recharge for a while, but not really that long. Deep cycle or golf cart batteries are designed to be the primary power source for the application so have been optimized for charge/discharge cycles. Still, they really don't last very long. A few years and they start to fail. As the industry grows, so do the new ideas and products that are better suited for the specific application. Even though lead/acid batteries are good for storing a lot of energy there are other batteries available that do that even better. Ni-MH batteries, or Nickel Metal Hydride rechargeable have been on the market for many years now but they are really expensive as far as home power storage is concerned. these would be an excellent choice for our needs if they were available in the sizes and price ranges of lead/acid. currently they aren't, but I foresee that they will. I understand (don't quote me on this) that the patent for large NiMH batteries is held by an automotive company and will not be allowed into production until electric cars are in far greater demand. Sounds like shooting ones-self in the foot to me. These batteries are very well suited for applications just like this.

Sorry, I tend to rant when i think I'm being taken advantage of.

The next page I'll look at the differences between household electricity, 120 volts AC and home generation electricity.

Making your own electricity is not as difficult as you might think. Some basic woodworking and electrical knowledge will get you started.

Most small home power systems can be low voltage, 12 volts DC just like in your car is easy to generate and store. There are a vast array of devices and appliances available for 12 volt DC use so losses in converting to 120 volts AC can be drastically reduced. 

Alternating Current, or AC is used because it will transmit over long distances with minimal losses. The distances required for home use do not require AC current. All that is necessary is to ensure the conductor size is sufficient for the amount of low voltage energy being conducted.