Can I generate hydroelectricity from running borewell water, if so how and the websites to refer to.?

Question

I would like to generate hydroelectricity from running borewell water with continuous supply and in turn run the borewell itself so as to save electricity and dependence. If so, can I use autoswitch mode so that when the power generated is enough to run the borewell wherein it can switch itself from electricity supply (Govt.) to hydroelectricity. Pls let me know some of the simple experiments, the required gadgets, and the websites where to look for such things precisely.

I would like to generate hydroelectricity from running borewell water with continuous supply and in turn run the borewell itself so as to save electricity and dependence. If so, can I use autoswitch mode so that when the power generated is enough to run the borewell wherein it can switch itself from electricity supply (Govt.) to hydroelectricity. Pls let me know some of the simple experiments, the required gadgets, and the websites where to look for such things precisely.
I live in a place where there is power, but would want to make it self sufficient for the agriculture sector, can I create an artificial head. Pls let me know the instruments required for testing the volume, force, etc. Websites to look for more details. How much of power is required to run a 3 HP motor. I am not planning to supply to the grid back.

Answer 1

Volume (cubic meters per second of water flow) x head (meters) = kilowatts.

That assumes 100% efficiency.

It's technically possible, but I doubt very much that you would derive the right combination of pressure and water volume from a flowing artesian borehole to generate more than a few watts of power.

Let's be optimistic and say you could get 10 watts of power 24 hours per day. That means you produce 240 watt hours every day (watts x hours = wh). Now the average price of electricity in North America is around 10 cents per kilowatt hour. At 10 watts, that means you would produce about 2.4 cents of electricity per day.

The average household consumes about 24 kwh (24,000 wh) per day, so there just isn't enough energy available from an artesian bore hole to produce a reasonable amount of power. And if there's a pump producing the water flow, as opposed to artesian flow, you will be using more energy than you're producing.

I hate to be a wet blanket on your idea, but the fact is that we have become so dependent on large volumes of cheap electricity that we have lost track of how much we are really using.

EDIT - I have considered the possibility of the asker living in a remote area away from power lines. Her/His question is clear on that issue, as s/he would like to "switch itself from electricity supply (Govt.) to hydroelectricity." That's called "running the meter backwards" when your generator is producing more electricity than your home is consuming, and you can feed the excess power into the grid for a profit. That switching gear is worth thousands of dollars, and, at 2.4 cents of production per day, that is far from an economically sound proposition.


RESPONSE TO ADDITIONAL DETAILS - I think what you are saying is that you have a water well with a 3 HP electric pump, where the pump is used to bring the water to surface, and you want to "harness" the energy of the water coming to the surface to generate electricity which in turn will power the pump. That is very different from an artesian well that your first question implied.

It will not be possible to use that energy to create "free" energy. Any restriction you have on the pipe (such as a turbine/generator combo) will use more energy to get the water out of the well, and that means you will need a bigger pump - a vicious circle. That's the "holy grail" of energy - trying to get perpetual energy for free and according to the law of conservation of energy that will never be achieved! The pump, the generator, the turbine, the water flow, and the resistance in the electrical wires all have an efficiency less than 100%, so therefore it is not possible to get the free energy.

The volume can easily be measured in liters per second and the force can be measured as pressure in equivalent meters of head (or in bars or psi, and then converted to equivalent meters of head), and then you could calculate the theoretical energy in kw available with the formula I gave you. For the volume, all you need to know is how long does it take to fill a standard barrel (45 Imp gal or 55 US gal or 200 liters or 0.2 cubic meters), and for the pressure attach a pressure guage. That part is easy. But if the volume and pressure are being derived from the pump, all you have to do is change the pump capacity to alter the energy available. A larger pump will require more energy, so there goes the vicious circle again.

By the way, it takes 746 watts to provide 1 hp in a 100% efficient electric motor, so that means it will be 2238 watts for 3 hp.

So the short answer to a complicated question & answer - attaching a generator to your well will only increase your energy consumption and cost. It will take more energy to create the artificial head then you will get back out of it. No amount of gadgets, autoswitches, and websites are going to change the laws of physics. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as free energy!

Answer 2

there r 2 ways of harnessing the energy from the borewell water. u can either fit a turbine to the output pipe which will introduce a backpressure in the system and make the pumping system work harder.
u could alternatively collect the water at a high reservoir and place a turbine at the bottom. this would require u'r borewell output to be at a high place.
remember the law of conservation of energy.

Answer 3

You could. But you can not run the borewell motor with it. You need more power than the power generated by the borwell flow.
Unless it is an artesian well.

Answer 4

good idea. the only thing the other poster does not consider is maybe you live where there are no power lines. running power lines is VERY expensive for any distance. and when there is a power outage, your water supplied power will still run!

Answer 5

Coconut water