Alternative energy solutions have traditionally fallen into one of two main categories and were either wind or solar based systems. Even though both of these systems are very good at supplying a significant amount of power for the average homeowner, they each have inherent limitations. These limitations can be overcome if a homeowner utilizes a hybrid approach and installs a solution on their home that combines the best of both of these technologies.

Even though solar power systems have improved dramatically in recent years, they are still limited by available sunlight. This means that even under the best of conditions they can only effectively generate power for less than half of a full day. In situations where a home is connected to the power grid, a solar power system can be designed to generate more power than is needed during the day and this excess power can be sent back to the local power company to generate a credit. This way in the evenings when the solar panels are dormant, the home can buy this power back from the utility with the credits they generated during the day. If the system is sized correctly this back and forth motion of power should cancel out a power bill for the home.

Even though this works well for a home connected to the grid, a home that is located in a remote area with no electrical service will need a more robust solution. This limitation can be somewhat offset by the addition of batteries to store additional power for the evenings, but this adds significant cost and complexity to a typical installation. Even with the batteries the additional power they provide for the home may not be enough for the families needs.

Wind power has similar limitations in that it can only generate power as long as a decent breeze is blowing. This is a very intermittent form of energy and will only supply power for small portions of the day. Again in grid connected homes this power can be augmented by buying additional electricity supplied locally but leaves off-grid homes without an option.

A reasonable alternative would be to combine both a solar power installation and a smaller wind turbine system. This way the home has both a power source during sunlight hours that can supply energy to the home or charge batteries, and also has a second source of free power from the wind. These two forms actually compliment each other quite well and the overlap of power generation can normally cover the power needs of an average home.

Many of the connection and conversions systems that are used to supply this alternative energy to the home have matured as well. Modern inverters are able to accept current from both a solar and a wind source and will simply convert this current for use in the home. This simplifies the installation of an alternative energy system tremendously and allows both solutions work together in tandem to provide the power needed for the home.