For many centuries water powered mills were part of country life. They provided a reliable source of power for grinding the grain grown in the nearby fields. ·Today their sites are perfect for the installation of small community based green power solutions.
Here in Australia water in consistent reliable volumes are not always available, however for the folks who live in the far north, there is the opportunity to take advantage of this as a clean, no emission power source. If you have a small stream that you are able / allowed to dam or divert then compared to the sun and wind’s variability, a stream’s flow is relatively consistent, making microhydro-electric system output potentially the most predictable of all the renewable energy electrical generation methods. To decide if a·microhydro system is suitable for your property you need to evaluate your water resource by measuring the head that is the vertical drop and volume of the flow of your stream. Hydro systems can work with as little as a meter of drop so they have more potential than the mainstream realise.
With this information in hand you can then contact one of the many system component builders and system designers for a quote on a system suitable for you. There are many Do It Yourselfer's worldwide who are creating workable solutions at a fraction of the cost of solar or wind.
Components of a Hydro Power System
The Intake
This is where the diverted water enters the Hydro System. The design and maintenance of this component of the system is vital. The water flow must be maintained, but it must be free of debris that could block the plumbing or damage the turbine. As well as not allowing debris, the intake should be positioned so that sand and grit that will erode the turbine's components do not enter the system.
The Plumbing
Don't try to take shortcuts to save money here. The diameter and length, as well as restrictions in bends of the pipe will determine the flow / velocity and volume of water that passes through the system. The friction in a small diameter pipe will limit the output of your system. Make sure you calculate the flow restriction through the plumbing so that it does not reduce the flow below what the turbine needs to produce it's maximum output.
The Turbine
This is the business end of the system. If it is too small then you will not be getting the optimal output from the system, too big and you will have wasted your money because without enough water the turbine may not spin at all! If your flow is seasonal, then consider a system with multiple turbines. There are many kinds of turbines, some suited to high heads, some suited to high volumes. Understand your water resource before you buy the turbine. The turbine will also include the alternator, this turns the waters energy into electricity.
The Outlet
The outlet must be designed so that the water returned to the stream does not destroy the banks and cause downstream erosion. A wide slow flowing outlet is much better than a narrow high speed stream.
The Inverter / Charge Controller
Water turbines are just like wind turbines in that the power generated by the turbine's alternator must be used, that is either consumed by an appliance, charging a battery, fed back to the grid or dumped into a dummy load. The last option, the dummy load is the least desirable as the power is lost! As the power flow is fairly constant they are very good·for providing a base load charge to a battery / inverter based system.
Finally, when coupled with wind and solar, which have peaky outputs you can easliy build a green fully off the grid system. Our location does not have sufficient water to implement a hydro system, but if someone would like to share their experience we would be happy to publish the details here. Email me at
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