Micro Hydro Power Advances Leading to Increasing Practicality

OFF GRID POWER EMERGENCIES...


In preparing for extended off-grid power emergencies it is important to always focus on the fact that without your own system you and your family may be left in the dark.

Pelton water wheel turbine w/generator, below generator is
pictured without the Pelton waterwheel 

Advances in Micro Hydro power provides new opportunities. Elevated water is a great way to store energy.The issue we face in using water to store energy is  we must first "elevate" the water. Water must have elevation to have kinetic energy stored in it, with micro generators we convert the energy to electric power which is then used to "Trickle feed" batteries. Or if you can gain enough height in the water column, or "Head", and we install the right Pelton water wheel system you can get home use generators that produce up to 4000 watts.

I found this system available on e-bay for under 250 dollars

Micro Home Power Water PMA Generator and Pelton Wheel 1000-3000 Watts, 12-36 VDC

That is enough to power tools such as table saws and drills. Even welders. Consider: In addition to your own needs these would be tools/jobs that can be easily bartered if you are one of the few in the community with enough power capacity. In extended emergencies of several days and more there will likely be need for wood and mettle cutting.

YOUR OWN POWER STATION

It is not as simple as flipping a wall switch but when designed correctly your system will be relatively simple to manage. Remember the alternative to a plan is that when the grid is down you have nothing.

You need at least 20 feet of water column to get any significant power generation. Therefor you have to elevate the water above the turbine by at least 20 vertical feet. Pipe friction will impact the energy capacity also causing any additional horizontal distance to increase the impact of friction and decrease your power capacity. Heres irony, storing water directly up a tree could be most effective. Hmmmm, three house and energy production ....  Or a scaled down old west water tank that stands 30 - 40 feet high could provide a tremendous advantage.  You're not going to be operating a wood shop all day long but you will have the ability to do much more than just charge a battery farm.

Water tower and windmill water pump system

Advances Leading to Increasing Practicality have many landowners with water rights finding micro hydro power to be very cost competitive in every day use, in fact many are selling excess power into the grid. Here however I have focused primarily on the perspective of emergency power needs.