Pico/micro hydro

[j6891]

Looking at this as a way to generate power for the farm and cottages, reliable source of power 24hrs a day 365 seems sensible to be me unlike solar or wind.
Ideally fast flowing and a high drop but has anyone got a setup on low flow/low head. Surely lots of potential across the UK with our high rainfall.

 

[Gareth J]

I looked into it a while back. With a winter flow of ~5-10l/s and a head of maybe 25m, worked out I was at around the 500w-1kw mark.

A useful amount of juice but putting in the penstock would have been many thousands.

It made solar panels look very cheap.

All depends on your head and flowrate/catchment. Plenty of online estimators to help gauge potential outputs.

 

[Bury the Trash]

Panels with batteries ?

 

[Y Fan Wen]

Looking at this as a way to generate power for the farm and cottages, reliable source of power 24hrs a day 365 seems sensible to be me unlike solar or wind.
Ideally fast flowing and a high drop but has anyone got a setup on low flow/low head. Surely lots of potential across the UK with our high rainfall.

Start with the basics, one cubic foot per second dropping through twenty feet has the potential to generate one kilowatt. So ten cufeet gives 10kw or 5kw on 10 feet of head.

 

[renewablejohn]

EA is your problem but stealth can be your solution so long as your not wanting to export.

 

[BobTheSmallholder]

YouTube is your friend... lots of good videos on this

 

[steveR]

EA is your problem but stealth can be your solution so long as your not wanting to export.

Sneaky little dam and a camouflaged array of pipework to the turbine house..... like it!

 

[renewablejohn]

Sneaky little dam and a camouflaged array of pipework to the turbine house..... like it!

Washing machine drum makes an excellent coarse filter sunk in a stream. Outlet in pond who is to know. Problem with EA even if approved its only a percentage of total flow.

 

[OlympicLiftingPF]

Hi all, are you all well? Hope so.

I've been looking at various forums and posts on pico hydro but so far not come across anyone who can help me.
I am aware of the some of the challenges especially around authorities but my situation is (thankfully) unique in that the flow of water into my penstock, the head and subsequent ravine/drop is all on my land and does not flow into any marked waterways.

I am also lucky in the fact that I already have a functioning off-grid system - solar powered, battery storage with backup generator that in summer provides more than 100% of my needs, and autumn to spring about 75%. As far as the off-grid set up is concerned there is nothing surprising about it - it's about a 3Kw panel system with a charge controller, battery storage and inverter.

In terms of the possible output from the water flow -the penstock is about 25m2 (can easily be built up to around 40m2, a flow rate of around 20l/ps (much more when it is wet weather) and a head of about 25-30m. A nice man from a big hydro project in Congleton came to look at it for me and said I would probably get in the region of 2Kw. My place is a domestic barn and notwithstanding using the cookers, generally ticks over at an average of 400w.

So, everything points to the fact that a) it is do-able, b) would definitely be worthwhile and c) I would be an idiot not to take advantage of it.

However, I am far from being an electrical engineer and am looking for some help on mostly what to install - from pipe width to what type of turbine would be best, and how to wire it into my existing set up (presumably with another charge controller).

So, is there anybody out there!!!?

Finally, I am not looking to do this on a shoestring budget. If I can find someone who genuinely has the skills, knowledge and proven experience then more than happy to compensate you for your time.

I am no eco-mentallist but everyone who I have spoken to so far has said it would be a travesty not to do this.

Any help or pointing in the right direction would be much appreciated.

Cheers. OLPF

 

[Gareth J]

If off grid, that helps sums add up.

I contacted a chap from here. Much more local to me but maybe worth contacting;

Evans Engineering and Power Company - water turbines micro hydro screens sluices controls and designs

Evans Engineering and Power Company - water turbines microhydro screens sluices controls and designs, renewable energy for a greener future

www.evans-engineering.co.uk

The type of turbine will depend on flowrate and head.

The sizable mill pond as it were is an advantage in that it may let you batch release during lower flow times to maximize the efficiency of the turbine, which will have an optimum head/flow range. Would need appropriate batteries and controller to make the most of that though.

500-1000W of "spare" generation throughout the winter will go a long way to providing hot water and heating too.

 

[OlympicLiftingPF]

If off grid, that helps sums add up.

I contacted a chap from here. Much more local to me but maybe worth contacting;

Evans Engineering and Power Company - water turbines micro hydro screens sluices controls and designs

Evans Engineering and Power Company - water turbines microhydro screens sluices controls and designs, renewable energy for a greener future

www.evans-engineering.co.uk

The type of turbine will depend on flowrate and head.

The sizable mill pond as it were is an advantage in that it may let you batch release during lower flow times to maximize the efficiency of the turbine, which will have an optimum head/flow range. Would need appropriate batteries and controller to make the most of that though.

500-1000W of "spare" generation throughout the winter will go a long way to providing hot water and heating too.

Hi Gareth, thank you for your reply and suggestions - much appreciated.

As I say it is easy for me to build up the size of the reserve of water and it is is sizable even in mid-summer. I have thought about having a motorised switch for the flow if indeed the batteries were full. Naively though, wouldn't a charge controller look after that anyway? Or do I need to consider "dumping" any spare. I'm not sure what happens now with the solar arrangement. Certainly between May and August there were may times where despite trying to use as much electricity as I good, there were many days where the solar would take the batteries to 100% by say 11am and there was plenty of sunshine after.

And yes, as you say even if I got 500w+, that running 24/7 would provide a lot in comparison to what I use.

(Where I am today it is pretty foggy so the input from the solar is <100w. I've been up to the existing outlet of the water and it's flowing at about 21 litres/second. On a day like this it would make me cry if I didn't try and do something with it!)

I will try Evans and see what they say.

Again, thank you for your help.

Cheers, Paul

 

[Gareth J]

I don't know the ins and out of possible control systems but, in principle, I can't see why you'd have to have a dump load. As you say, shutting off flow or bypassing would work too. However, that said, the simpler it can be kept, likely the more reliable. Compared to solar, in particular, it's a high maintenance thing.

The main advantages of a reservoir of water are to act as a settling tank, to buffer feed flow fluctuations and to act as an energy store. The energy store can't be utilised unless you have some kind of control system to let it fill/refil when demand/conditions dictate it's appropriate. During a lower rainfall period, you want to be able to let the reservoir refill (overnight say) and start draining when the batteries need a recharge. I'm sure its all doable but again, keeping it not too complicated and relatively low maintenance will be the challenge.

Thinking about the pipe from turbine to reservoir (penstock?) will also be an area to concentrate on. You might be surprised at how large a diameter pipe is required. Seat of pants guess, at those flow rates, 6 or even 8" pipe might be needed. That gets expensive at high pressure capabilities so, hopefully you're on a steeper slope and can use cheaper low pressure pipe for a bit higher up the valley and only use higher pressure stuff for a steep final section.

Keep us posted!

 

[sjt01]

Hi Gareth, thank you for your reply and suggestions - much appreciated.

As I say it is easy for me to build up the size of the reserve of water and it is is sizable even in mid-summer. I have thought about having a motorised switch for the flow if indeed the batteries were full. Naively though, wouldn't a charge controller look after that anyway? Or do I need to consider "dumping" any spare. I'm not sure what happens now with the solar arrangement. Certainly between May and August there were may times where despite trying to use as much electricity as I good, there were many days where the solar would take the batteries to 100% by say 11am and there was plenty of sunshine after.

And yes, as you say even if I got 500w+, that running 24/7 would provide a lot in comparison to what I use.

(Where I am today it is pretty foggy so the input from the solar is <100w. I've been up to the existing outlet of the water and it's flowing at about 21 litres/second. On a day like this it would make me cry if I didn't try and do something with it!)

I will try Evans and see what they say.

Again, thank you for your help.

Cheers, Paul

My first step would be to get a copy of the Micro-Hydro Design Manual by Adam Harvey. Lots of practical ideas, design caculations, the lot
https://practicalactionpublishing.com/book/1394/micro-hydro-design-manual

 

[Gerbert]

Look up Marty T on the youtubes, he build an off grid hydro electric to an extrent that he can even run a decent welder.