I have envisioned this, and pictured a large wooden water wheel (basically the turbine) connected to a small-scale AC hydro generator, like those used in dams, and a high-voltage transformer and small power pole and line, to power a remote house in the woods, by a stream. How feasible is this setup, and if not, what are other feasible setups for hydroelectricity are there and how might I carry them out?
2007-03-15 18:49:25 · 3 answers · asked by brook_k2000 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Engineering
Quite feasible. Check out Home Power Magazine. It has a wealth of information on projects like you're describing.
2007-03-15 19:00:18 · answer #1 · answered by charley128 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The real question(s) are
1. How much vertical drop (in meters) do you have? and
2. How much flow rate (in cu. m/sec) do you have?
Once you have those, it's pretty straightforward to calculate the maximum power you could get and go from there to determine if it's feasible or not.
HTH âº
Doug
2007-03-16 02:06:36 · answer #2 · answered by doug_donaghue 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It is not easy as you think. Control of volatge and frequency is not easy.
Do a web search on "micro hydro"
You can start with
http://www.microhydropower.net/
or ITDG site
2007-03-16 03:52:42 · answer #3 · answered by Shantha R 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋