Obviously, solar would have no moving parts. Wind turbines for residential use tend to be around 700 watts while it's common to have more wattage in solar panels however, the best solution would be to have both as wind tends to blow at night so by having both, you draw less heavily on your batteries. Note many offgrid homes use an absorption refrigerator or freezer running on a propane tank buried in the yard rather than risk losing all the food due to a few cloudy days in a row. Of course, if you have a generator with enough fuel storage ( perhaps a propane tank buried in the yard for a trifuel generator ), you would have a suitable backup for cloudy days.

You may want to consider Nickel Iron batteries, they tolerate abuse better than lead acid and can be discharged completely.

It depends on the types of wind energy and solar power. You can make a do-it-yourself wind turbine very cheaply out of stuff such as barrels, whereas making your own solar panels is near impossible. However, in regards to purchased solar panels vs. windmills, solar panels are more efficient and are likely cheaper.

If the area is mountainous, it really depends on how windy it is. If it is very windy, then wind energy would probably be better, if not, I'd go with solar power.

There is a step-by-step video guide online right now that can show you how to reduce your power bill by making your own solar panels.

Take a look at it: http://tinyurl.com/Earth4EnergyRew

Why pay thousands of dollars for solar energy ($27,000 average cost) when you can build your own solar panel system for just a fraction of the retail cost. You can build a single solar panel or you can build an entire array of panels to power your whole house.

Some people are saving 50% on their power bill, some people are reducing their bill to nothing. But what’s most impressive is that just by following these instructions some are even making the power company pay them!

I suggest both of them,bcs u can use wind energy when there is excess wind and when there is more solar energy u can use solar power.

Wind energy

I would have both, then when it not windy you have solar, and when it is not daytime you have wind perhaps, anything to reduce drain on batteries, with renewables it is always the lead acid batteries that cause the most problems.

Look around the neighborhood, and see what other people are doing. Also, see if there are professional installers near you. For example, if there are no professional wind turbine installers nearby, your location may be unsuitable for wind, either because there isn't enough steady wind, or because local laws prohibit it.

I would prefer solar power...

Is it sunny or windy?

I am just about to build a house and was wondering due to the nature of unreliable limited supply of electricity and instant shortages, When considering a off grid or grid connect power system; the two main choices for renewable energy equipment are wind turbines and solar panels. So which is the superior for a mountainous region in West Coast of Africa, wind energy or solar power?