It seems like every other cornfield now has been given over to wind energy. No doubt these massive structures can provide great benefit to companies and cities. If you wanted to experiment however, it was a little difficult. But now there are some options.

Looking similar, though on a smaller scale than the average wind turbine, the Proven Energy 2.5 kW 300 V Wind Turbine Grid Tie can be used for personal energy usage. As Luxury Housing Trends points out, it’s not cheap, but the company’s promise of their product powering a three-bedroom house (minus heat) might make it worthwhile over the long run.

For an wind energy option that provides less power but is small enough to go on the roof of your house, check out our recent profile of the WindTronics wind turbine, which was on display at this year’s International Builders Show.

Also via Luxury Housing Trends, we have a new option for solar power. It’s an easy, low-maintenance kit. According to the site, the Sunforce 39626 160-Watt High-Efficiency Polycrystalline Solar Power Kit has “weatherproof solar cells…made with an aluminum frame and tempered glass coverings to ensure that they’re durable enough to withstand the elements. This kit comes with two 80-watt polycrystalline solar panels, a 200-watt power inverts, a 30-amp digital charge controller, a voltage tester and a wiring kit with mount accessories included.”

Have you thought of using wind energy, solar power or other forms of alternative energy in your home?

Photo courtesy of nualabugeye on Flickr

Energy efficiency starts at home: Wind and soloar for your house is a post from: MLuxe - Distinctive Home Style

The basic idea is that electricity costs more when increased demand — from, say, loads of air conditioner use on a steamy afternoon — puts more strain on the electrical grid. Smart grid-enabled appliances can help reduce peak-time use, reduce environmental impact and save you money. For example, “The smart-grid refrigerator delays the defrost cycle from occurring during peak hours, when it goes into energy saving mode. According to GE, one participant’s energy-efficiency efforts with refrigerator usage over 10 weekdays showed over a 20% reduction of energy used during peak hours.”

Meanwhile, CNet.com’s Green Tech blog says many of these smart-grid gizmos are starting to become more consumer-friendly — which you’d think would have been the idea from the get-go. The photo at right shows just one of these applications, a cell phone running the Web-based PowerMeter application from Google (yes, the search company).

Have you seen any interesting advancements in green tech lately? Have you had any first-hand experiences with smart-grid technology? Let us know in the comments.

Advancements in smart-grid tech for consumers is a post from: MLuxe - Distinctive Home Style

There are quite a few options out there, but our favorite is the Grobal Self-Watering Planter designed by Karim Rashid (see some of his work for the myMarvin project here). The Grobal comes in enough colors to satisfy any decorating scheme and features Rashid’s signature curvy lines. With something as easy as this, there’s no excuse not to try growing something this summer!

Photo courtesy of A + R

Turning Your Thumb Green is a post from: MLuxe - Distinctive Home Style

By tehrani baylis DESIGN(tbD), this light uses a simple jar to create an extraordinarily chic statement piece that is especially perfect for the kitchen. It’s all hand-assembled with durable materials and when you need to change the bulb, you just take off the lid of the jar. What a great way to use an everyday material to make a necessary, yet stylish appliance!

To learn more, please visit tbD’s website.

Photo courtesy of Calfinder.

Product Spotlight: Jar Light is a post from: MLuxe - Distinctive Home Style

It’s the Superconductor from Avanti and it contains a fridge, sink, two electric burners and two drawers. It even has a nice backsplash. In one tiny bit of space, you can store perishables and other food, cook on a stovetop and even wash dishes. Add in a microwave and a toaster oven, and you could have a complete kitchen that could go in a corner of your house.

The Superconductor could work for a variety of situations: dorm rooms, apartments with roommates, offices, even regular homes that need a little more kitchen power. What an amazing product! Do you think that you could get used to cooking and using such a compact kitchen?

Image courtesy of Avanti.

This is a Kitchen?! is a post from: MLuxe - Distinctive Home Style

The Window Shopping app is a tool to help homeowners plan basic designs for windows and doors, inside and outside the house. After taking a photo of an interior or exterior space that could use an upgrade, the app user can choose from nearly 50 resizable photos of Marvin windows and doors, arrange them over the photo, and save or send the photo to share with friends, family or a local Marvin dealer. Watch a demo video below, or visit www.marvin.com/iphone to see some sample “before and after” photos and to download the app for free.

The app includes interior and exterior views of several Marvin windows, as well as the five unique windows designed by Karim Rashid, Milton Glaser, Sarah Susanka and others as part of the myMarvin project. Users also can choose from an array of entry doors, interior doors and patio doors, offering a full lineup for redesigning the interior or exterior of a home. Window Shopping also includes automatically updating feeds from MLuxe and a special “Green Feed,” a series of articles and resources about energy efficiency and sustainability.

Once a homeowner creates and saves a design idea, a Marvin dealer can bring the design to life by helping personalize windows or doors with the desired hardware, wood choices, colors, energy-efficiency ratings and so on. A dealer-locator tool is built into the app, which makes it easy to turn a homeowner’s design dream into a reality.

Marvin’s new iPhone app helps with remodeling and designing is a post from: MLuxe - Distinctive Home Style

The Web is full of reviews of these green cleaning products, so a few Google searches will likely help you track down what you’re looking for. You’d probably do well to check out certain well-known and trusted resources for all things “green,” like Inhabitat, Re-Nest and other popular Web sites.

A pair of writers for AssociatedContent.com dug deep into the range of cleaning products offered by Method and Seventh Generation. Remember, too, that “green cleaning products” aren’t limited to eco-friendly brands like Method or Seventh Generation. It can also include items like vinegar or boric acid. Grist.com offers a round-up of cleaners ranging from baking soda to brands like Mrs. Meyer’s.

So while sites like Good Guide can help you determine how environmentally (and socially) responsible a company or product is, it’ll take a bit of extra digging — or just your own trial and error — to determine what will get the job done.

Do green cleaning products work? is a post from: MLuxe - Distinctive Home Style

To start with, look for the ENERGY STAR label. This label indicates that a product meets energy guidelines set by the Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy.

Over on Re-Nest, 10 fridges’ ENERGY STAR ratings are listed. Check it out–it’s a good place to start when considering replacing your refrigerator. What other attributes are important to you for looks and performance?

Image courtesy of Re-Nest.

A Greener Fridge is a post from: MLuxe - Distinctive Home Style

Maybe the iPhone’s touchscreen craze has spilled over into other products, but we think that Delta’s Touch2O Technology is very innovative. The idea is simple: touch the faucet to turn it on and touch it again to turn it off. Simple. And ingenious.

In the bathroom, we love this two layer bathroom sink from Mal Corboy that we found on DigsDigs. It is a fresh and unusual fixture in the bathroom. The dual layers bring to mind an infinity pool: as a sink, it is calming, crisp and clean.

Everything and the Kitchen Sink is a post from: MLuxe - Distinctive Home Style

Home improvement expert and Today Show contributor (and MLuxe contributor!) Lou Manfredini was on hand to check out these and other products from Marvin, and he shot this video tour of our 8,800-square-foot booth. The video gives you a chance to see these products in action, taking a close-up look at their exceptional form and function.

And if you want a closer look, you can always visit your local dealer.

You’ll find the rest of Marvin’s IBS 2010 coverage here — it features interviews with show organizers, highlights of innovative products on display at the show, and details on Marvin’s own new products.

Take a virtual tour of Marvin’s new windows and doors is a post from: MLuxe - Distinctive Home Style