Still dreaming – Green Remodeling

I have this idea. No, a dream. No, definitely an idea. OK, it goes like this. The back of my house faces the southwest. We did this so we could glean the warm winter sun to help heat the house when it’s cold. Good idea. I also discovered the wind blows regularly back there all year long. So…. wind, sun…. a perfect mix for an off the grid system. Off the grid means getting off the electric grid that powers all the things that go whizz, whirr and woosh in my house, including lights. I love this idea so much that when I’m home, I keep thinking of how I’m going to do this. I’m persistent. But here’s the thing, I would need to cover the entire back of my roof to get a few thousand watts of solar power. Enough to keep the fridge running and a few lights on. To do it myself, figure on $6.00 -$10.00 a watt. OK, payback is in… Never mind. I looked into a wind turbine. Ouch$$$$. Never mind. Oh, and my homeowners association won’t allow it either. So why is this such a conundrum? I want to do this.