So gas is cheaper right now, for the time being, which is good. As long as you still have a job to drive to, that’s a feather in cap. And apparently consumer goods prices are down 1% to 2% for the month, which we’re told is the biggest drop in quite a few years. One thing that will most likely not become cheaper is energy. That electricity bill never seems to go down, and it most likely never will.

The traditional energy distribution grid is pretty ineffecient as it is, and it’s going to take a lot of cash to maintenence and improve that network. And one thing is for sure. That money has to come from somewhere. And the obvious source is you, the customer. So it looks like those bills will continue a steady climb for years to come. The reasons go beyond improvements to infrastructure and rate wars.

One big factor is that generation capacity has not grown with demand. We all remember the Enron scandal and the rolling blackouts that hit the Northeast a few years back. Ineffecient management of the grid is one problem, and that is being dealt with as more advanced managements systems and technology are being implemented. But the main point is that not a single new nuclear plant and very few new coal and gas fired plants have been built in decades. More effecient energy management and use will help alleviate headaches, but it won’t completely address the issue of sufficient energy supply.

Mercifully, we don’t all have to take price hikes in our energy bill lying down. A growing contingent of the population is learning about alternative sources of power that have been around forever. Sources such as wind and solar, to name a couple. Hydropower and geothermal sources are also under used options. The common perception is that setting up a solar array or a wind turbine is expensive, ugly, and a poor return on the investment.

The main reason for this is that most aren’t aware of how easy and cheap it is to get a basic setup of solar and wind power generators going at their house. Amazingly, it only takes a little time and a few hundred bucks to start generating your own energy from home, all from using widely available components that can be had at any decent local hardware store.

The benefits of home energy production are plain as day. The big issue is money. When you think about your energy bill for the year, you’re easily looking at a pile of money that’s going to the power company when it could be paying off the car or your house. Maybe even paying for the kids’ college tuition. If you could slash your bill by 50% to 80%, or even eliminate it entirely, that be a big help.

Not to mention the helping to clean up the environment. More people die from lung cancer every year due to polluted air than from cigarette smoking by far. Local, home based renewable energy production provides clean power that doesn’t have people gasping for air.

There are many cheap, effective, proven guides online that can help you get started in creating a backyard energy system that can save you big bucks and keep the environment healthy. Decentralized, local renewable energy looks to play a big part in our energy future in the years and decades to come.

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Quit shelling out big bucks to the power company. Take Energy Independence into your own hands today.