I hands down prefer and use Solar for my home and this is why

There are three main choices for alternative energy for you house; Gas generator, wind and solar.
I don't know of any pros for a gas generator.  Some cons I have noticed are excessive long term cost, such as paying for gas all the time. The gas runs out fairly fast and if you were planning to use it for a more long term use the cost would be outrageous.  It also has lots of hidden cost such as special permits and taxing as well as installation cost.  Another thing I didn't like about the gas generator is it is very noisy and causes air pollution.   The generator option is widely available and easy to get at any hardware store.  This option though it may seem cheap initially it is far from it. I did a small comparison chart below for you to see the different size gas generators compared to Solar.

 

	Generator Comparison Chart
		Small Diesel Generator	Portable Solar System Generator	Whole house LP Generator
	Model	Emergency	Full time system	Emergency Stand by
	Grade	6 kW	6kW	11kW
	Alternator	120/240 Single-Phase	120/240 Single-Phase	120/240 Single-Phase
	Run Time	10 hours at half	8 hours on half	7 days at half
	Fuel tank	7.5 gallon	N/A	200 gallon
	Fuel Type	Gasoline	sunlight	LP/Natural Gas
	Price of Diesel	$3.50	0	$2.00
	Cost to lease tank			$500.00
	Cost to fill tank	$26.25	0	$400
	Decibel Rating	52 Decibles	silent	62 Decibles
	Installation Cost	0	0	$2500-$10,000
	Added setup cost	0	0	$500
	Initial Price	$899	$9,213	$2,351
	Total Cost	$899	$9,213	$13,351
	Cost in 3 Day Emergency	$158	$0	$204
	Cost of month use	$1,575	$0	$2,040
	Can run continually	No	Yes	No
	info	http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com	http://www.greengardenchicken.com	http://generators4memphis.net

I also looked at wind power and was leaning very heavily toward buying it.  This is a very good choice for someone who has enough land. You will need to look up in your city department what the allowance is for your area.  The initial set up of a wind system would have to be done by a professional.  You will also need to have a permit to have one in most cases.  The cost is comparable to solar, but the drawback I didn't like was that you need to change bearings on the windmill every so many years depending on the one you have and I didn't like the thought of climbing way up the windmill to change it. I suppose you could hire a professional to do it, but I like being able to do things myself so for me this was something that turned me away from wind power.

How much wind do you need? That’s a very good question.  11 miles per hour is sufficient wind speed.  You will need a 2k-10k wind turbine to power a house depending on your size house and energy needs.  You can go to the National Climate Data Center to calculate the wind in your area or you can have your place accessed by the local wind company that you are looking at to use for installing the wind turbine. I myself have a solar system,but one day would like to also have a wind system.  This way I can compensate for those few days of no wind or few days of no sun.
     I did at one time buy a small wind generator to put on the roof top, but it did not seem to do the job so I took it down.  I have researched on these smaller house models and most reports say that it is better to get the ones that need a tower to make sure it gets in the good wind belt.  So was a waste of money for me. I will try the regular pole mounted windmill on my next try.

Solar by far my favorite is what I have chosen. Originally I bought a small system
Complete Cottage 216KWH Monthly Output Off Grid Solar Kit With 4000 Watt Power Inverter
It was a great price and included everything I needed plus it came with racks already so I just put them outside and hooked it to my well system and it worked like a charm.  I liked it so much I bought more.  I put my whole house on it.  I bought
Complete Ranch 864KWH Monthly Output Off Grid Solar Kit With 12000 Watt Power Inverter

I decided to mount them up off the ground on a pole mount system.  My house did not sit the right direction for me to mount them directly to my house roof so I made a pole mount structure for them on my property.  It worked perfectly.  The people at the store I bought the system from were really great with all the installation questions I had so I was able to set up the system completely by myself.

I love how quiet and clean Solar power is.  The panels also look beautiful.  I have had them through the snow season and it was piece of cake maintenance wise.  All I did was brush them of with my push broom when it snowed and what ever was left always melted right off.  I live in heavy snow country so this was a great plus for me.  I also noticed that the Solar panels still collected power even with a few inches of snow on them.  I thought that was pretty cool.  With this system it was very easy to hook up all the cables.  The hardest part was moving the batteries in place, of course if you had a grid tie system I also wanted to mention that solar is much easier to install.  You can do it yourself if you know a bit about electrical.  As compared to the wind generator you need to have a permit and pass the requirements of being so many feet from other structures.  You also need a crane to install the tower or just let the wind company do the complete install for you which is the best option because of these little problems.