HOME HYDRO POWER

I know someone who has a sizeable river in his backyard...

Electric rates from the utility that supplies his house at over 10 cents/kWh, and the average household uses 700 Kwh/month, which comes to $120/month when you add in all their standard charges. You'd think that my math is messed up, right? 700 times $.10 is $70, right? Well, read the fine print. They say you're paying $.10/kWh but it's actually much closer to $.17.

Here's a cool blurb about the Kennedy Creek System:
These systems are not new comers to the neighborhood; the
have been in operation for an average of 7.6 years. The
systems produce from 2.3 to 52 kilowatt-hours of elect
power daily. Average power production is 22 kWh daily at a
average installed cost of $4,369. If all the hydroelectric power
produced by all five Kennedy Creek systems is totaled since
they were installed, then they have produced over 30
megawatt-hours of power. And if all the costs involved for
five systems are totaled, then the total cost for all five
systems is $21,845. This amounts to an average of 7¢ per
kilowatt-hour. And that's cheaper than the local utility. On
system, Gene Strouss's, makes power for 3¢ a kilowatt-hour,
less than half what's charged by the local utility.

Homepower Magazine has tons of info about how to build a mini hydroelectric power plant in your backyard. For many people it's the only (most economical) choice. An article titled "Micro Hydro Power in the Nineties" plainly states that a micro hydro setup has a lifespan of decades, reliably produces utility-grade electric service (with some to spare) and costs $.03-.25/kWh. So, if you can keep the costs below $.17/kWh, you'll make money...and that's just this year. Next year prices will rise and the return on your investment will accelerate.

More Links:


MicroHydroPower.Net
Otherpower.com
HOMER -- a program to calculate all there is with micro power -- free
Energy Alternatives -- wealth of information



How to calculate how much power you can get:

The basic equation: kW = (( H * Q ) / 660 ) * 0.82 * 0.746 * (turbine / wheel eff.)

You will need to factor in the efficiency of the turbine or wheel that you are using to get a more realistic figure of your net potential.

kW == Kilowatts

H == Net Head in feet

Q == Quantity in Cubic Feet per Minute

660 == Constant

0.82 == Generator Efficiency

0.746 == Conversion from Brake horsepower to Kilowatts

** The article above had a simpler equation : H (feet) *Q (US Gals/min) /10 = OUTPUT (Watts)