Personal Use Hydroelectrical Power

[AU24K]

I'm looking at some acreage in the mountains to purchase and build my house. I was wondering if anyone has any experiences with a small scale harnessing system of say, a stream to generate electricity. Where I'm looking to purchase would cost big money to run an electric drop to. I understand that the initial outlay would be just as pricey, however, the long term payoff would possibly justify this expense.
I know Nothing about the components needed. Storage Capacitor? Flux generator?

If the power harnessing is great enough, possibly selling back to the power companies? Environmental concerns/permits?

Thanks for your input!

Best Wishes,
Scott

 

[diggemall]

There is a fair amount of info out on the web about system sizing and application. Probably the first things I would look into are:

1) What amount of flow & drop are available at the LOWEST flow periods of the year ?

2) How much power could one conceivably expect to derive from that amount of water ? How does this compare with your needs ?

3) What is the permitting process & what is allowed for the location you are at ?

I had the pleasure of seeing a professionally installed privately owned mini hydro system in Michigans Upper Peninsula a number of years ago. This particular guy owned an entire 80 acre lake that had something like a 20 foot drop to a creek. He had a 55 Kw generator running 24/7 with a bypass loop to a 15Kw generator (for use while performing maintenance on the large genny) The setup was fairly straight forward and actually quite simple (he used a Fenner M-Trim controller to modulate a butterfly valve to control flow and hold the genny at an output right at 60Hz)

The cost to run lines to sell excess power back to the utility would cost as much to install as it would to BUY the power from the utility...........

Diggem'

 

[AU24K]

Good points, Diggemall.
I hadn't considered a second genny to switch to while doing maintenence on the main.
The streams I'm looking at are spring fed- same minimum flow year around. Of course rainy season would increase flow.
Being single, my total need would not be much. In fact, I'd try to use as little as possible. Kerosene lamps, etc.

Thanks!
Scott

PS. can anyone provide some links?

 

[packerbacker]

Low output but easy.
http://www.absak.com/library/hydro-power

 

[diggemall]

I think otherpower.com has some useful info / links, homepower.com as well

Also do a search for "micro hydro"

You'll find enough to read for days

If you want a ROUGH idea as to how much power you can get from a given amount of flow & head (TDH), look up power curves for centrifugal & turbine pumps. Most of them run in the 80-90% efficiency range (wire-to-water), and actually make fairly decent turbines. Input power required to RUN a pump will equate roughly to the output power available if it were used as a turbine, and the info is readily available in the form of performance curves for the pumps.

The setup I visited was designed by a retired Michigan P&L hydro engineer ("I've always wanted to design & build a LITTLE one") - I just wish I'd had a camera along.

Diggem'

 

[Frankn]

au24k: I have tried a pelton wheel generator and an old fashion overshot wheel with marginal results. A friend of mine tried a Francis turbine that was already in the mill he purchased. The problem in most cases is water or lack their of. The equipment is expensive, it requires a lot of maintenance and it doesn't work on a small scale. Water sounds good, but it only works if you can impound a lot of it. I am looking into solar. the science is advancing rapidly. A co. named Nano Solar has developed a new style of "cell" They apply the solar sensitive material to aluminum rolls on what looks like a printing press. It is a continuous process. It is being tried out at a power plant in GERMANY!! The Manufacturing plant is in California. Cover your roof with this and maybe you won't have to cut back so much. There are several other companies that are making progress also. If you can get hold of the Mag. Mother Earth News, check the adds. I think solar is much more practical for home use. And yes, here in the USA you can sell the excess back to the power companies.
In your case, you would require battery banks for storage. Frank

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[rockhound]

There are a host of things to consider. First, how far is it from the stream to where you house will be built?If a long distance, there are two ways of doing it, one is to run a pipe from the creek to your house,where the turbine will be located,no need standing in the stream working on an electric generator, or you could run an AC squirrel cage Induction motor with no need for battery backup. Second. how much drop do you have? If it is a small drop, you can run a drain pipe(pipe with 1/4 holes) up the creek as far as need be,lying on the bottom,secured by large boulders to keep it in the stream,then run overland with solid pipe to your house,then you can just run it back into the creek.You can put a shutoff valve next to the turbine to stop the water flow while performing maintenance.There are many types of turbines to choose from,with different characteristics.You will need to match size to the flow volume. You can attach an AC alternator,DC generator, AC induction motor, or DC motor. In most cases where your house will be far from the creek, you will either have to run pipe or wire long distances, if so you will need to run wire from AC.You can charge a battery bank with AC or DC,but with AC you will have to convert it to DC.Dam up the creek to determine what size pipe it will fill continuously to determine flow in summer. Winter will obviously have more flow.With a squirrel cage induction motor with a single phase 230 volt rating,you can overrun the rpm of the motor and hook directly into a breaker box.If motor is rated at 1800 RPM, you will need to run at 2200 RPM minimum.Good Luck. rockhound