Micro-Hydro 101 Bob Fairchild Soft Energy Associates solarbobky@yahoo.

com
Growing Appalachia
Moving Forward in the Mountains Saturday, April 24, 2010

The ideal hydroelectric site

Power and Energy

Energy is work. It is what you pay for. It is generally expressed in kilowatt hours (kWh). Residential electricity costs around $.06/kWh Power is energy per time. It is generally expressed in kilowatts (kW) or horsepower (HP)

In conventional hydroelectric systems, Power is determined by head and flow

Head is the vertical distance from inlet to outlet. Flow is the amount of water.

Calculating power
Head *Flow/10,000= Power (ft) (gal/min) (kWh) Examples: 25 ft * 40 gal/min/10,000=0.1 kW
15 ft *1,000,000gal/min/10,000=1500kW

Mother Ann Lee Hydro Station

Micro Hydro
100 kW or less (the average home uses about 1 kW continuously on average)

Dams and diversions

Structures to hold back and/or divert water to hydroelectric installation

Penstock/Canal

Penstock: pipe for carrying water to a hydroelectric turbine Canal: open channel

Trash rack/intake screen

Filter to prevent debris from entering hydro turbine Bar grille, screen, perforated pipe Coanda effect intake

Waterwheels
Large, heavy, low speed Good for mechanical power Not good for electrical generation Generally lower efficiency than turbines

Turbines
More compact Higher speed Better for electrical generation Higher efficiency

Turbine types
Reaction turbines
-- Use pressure of water to turn turbine Fully submerged Generally for lower head sites

Impulse turbines
Turn pressure into speed with jets Operate with some air around turbine Generally for high head sites

Reaction Turbines
Francis Kaplan
Fixed blade Adjustable blade

Francis Turbine
spiral or open inlet

Kaplan Turbine
propeller with fixed or adjustable blades

Impulse Turbines
Crossflow Turgo Pelton

Crossflow Turbine
cylindrical turbine, water flows in and out

Turgo Turbine
Single spoons with angled jets

Pelton Turbine
Double spoons with straight jets

Generators
DC
Automotive alternator
Cheaper Less efficient Custom wound for specific speed

AC
Induction
Requires only speed matching to synch Cannot operate alone

Permanent magnet
More expensive More efficient Wide range of applicability

Synchronous
Requires speed and frequency matching Can operate stand alone

Pumps and Motors

Some pumps can be run in reverse as turbines Lower efficiency Lower cost Some motors can be run in reverse as generators Lower efficiency Lower cost

Controls
Water flow control with manual or automatic grid connection Battery powered shutoff for grid problems Over/under voltage Over current Reverse power Over/under frequency Other conditions

Costs
Design work (engineering) Licenses and permits Civil works (concrete) Pipe Turbine Generator Controls Interconnect (transformers, power lines)

Net Metering
Offset retail rate power 30 kW maximum Use grid as battery Carryover surplus production from wet months

Head vs. Flow

In general, more head is better than more flow. A given turbine can only handle a certain maximum flow. More head will give more power for a given turbine. To get more power with more flow, you need a bigger, more expensive turbine.

Microhydro turbines for residential installations

LH1000: low head, high flow (propeller turbine)

Stream Engine: higher head, lower flow (Turgo turbine)

LH 1000 turbine generator $3000

LH1000 power curve

Stream Engine Turbine Generator

$2500 Bronze Turgo runner Head: 6 ft to 300 ft One to four jets Flows to 100 gallons per minute

BIG HYDROPOWER
Provides 90% of all renewable power Provides 24% of the Worlds electricity Provides 7% of electricity in U.S. Over 2000 Hydroelectric Plants in U.S. Only 3% of Dams in the U.S. have Hydropower Kentucky has 450 MW of potential at 37 non-hydro dams (larger sites)