It’s been a long time coming, but people are finally starting to take solar and wind power seriously. This technology is going to explode in the coming years, so the time to start learning about it is now.

Home energy kits now allow you build your own wind and solar power generators for very little money. They show you how to find the parts you need without spending a lot. Especially batteries, which are very important components of any renewable energy setup.

In a recent column in The New York Times, Thomas Friedman wrote “Big batteries that can store electricity for transportation and wind and solar generation are the indispensable enablers of the Energy Internet of the future. Europe, Japan and China are already dominating this industry. It’s the key to clean-tech, and ultimately our national competitiveness. We can’t allow ourselves to be battery importers in the 21st century the way we were oil importers in the 20th.”

I think people are beginning to sense the truth in this. It’s one of the main reasons why home energy kits are all the rage these days. They can help save money and the environment, but it’s really the desire to be part of the future that is motivating people to create their own electricity. It’s a really fun and educational project.

The first step is to get a manual that tells you exactly how to go about doing this. I can’t think of a better sign for the future than thousands of people creating their own electricity in their backyard. All three of these manuals can be immediately downloaded from the internet.

Earth4Energy The most popular. In fact, their website gets around half a million visitors a month.  At $49.97, this is slightly more expensive than the other two. But in addition to a detailed manual, it also comes with a two-part video series. The website can be found here.

HomeMadeEnergy This product provides a manual—no videos. It’s slightly cheaper at $47. You’ll learn how to build a solar panel for under $200 and a wind generator for under $100. Check it out here.

Home Made Power Plant Again, no videos—just a manual for $47. There are some bonus books that come with this one. And their website has quite a few videos on it that discuss what’s involved in creating your own electricity. Just go here.