If you have found our Introduction to Hydro Electric Power and Guide to Pico-Hydro Power interesting, then you are should take the time to read the downloadable guide to Microhydro-electric Systems in this month’s edition of Home Power Magazine.

Available free of charge as a PDF document, this guide gives a wonderful introduction to small scale generation of hydro-electricity. It is ideally suited to the DIY enthusiast as it explains all of the key concepts and pieces of equipment required clearly and concisely.

The guide covers the following key points:
1. Intake – how to guide water from the stream or river into your system.
2. Pipeline – the different sizes and types of pipes available.
then for off grid battery storage hydro systems:
3a. Turbine – the waterwheel used to turn the generator.
4a. Controls – how to manage to the generated power and protect your batteries.
5a. Dump load – uses up excess energy rather than sending it to already charged batteries. For example a heater.
6a. Battery bank – power storage for your hydro system.
…or for a Grid-tied batteryless hydro system:
3b. Metering – track the amount of electricity being generated.
4b. Inverter – converts the DC power generated into AC power.

There are also schematic diagrams to show how you can set up a grid-tied system with battery back up, or an off-grid batteryless system which uses a turbine that generates high AC voltages to be sent directly to your household for use.

Guide to Micro Hydro Electric Power Generation

The guide can be found at the following link: Microhydro-Electric Systems Simplified (6 page PDF document) from Homepower Magazine.