Need assessment assistance

[Mindy Gallaway]

I have a stream on my property, as does my neighbor, we are interested in installing a hydro power system. How do we get started? I have read info but we need someone to come out and tell us what is possible. We live in southern Missouri. Any help on companies who send rep out?

[Rob Beckers]

Hi Mindy,

Since nobody is picking up the torch I'll give it a try. Hydro isn't my specialty, but here goes... :weird:

First off, you're very luck you have a year-round stream to tap into. Even a low-power hydro generator can add up to a whole lot of energy because it runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (unlike wind and solar). Hydro needs either high-volume, low-head (the height you can drop the water down from), or low-volume, high-head. There are different hydro generator designs for both situations. For an example of a small hydro generator take a look here (http://www.realgoods.com/product/wind-hydro-transportation/hydro/harris+4-nozzle+hydro+turbine.do).

Home Power Magazine had a set of excellent articles about hydro; an intro discussing power available in the water vs. head and volume (http://www.homepower.com/view/?file=HP103_pg14_New), the construction of intakes (http://www.homepower.com/article/?file=HP124_pg68_Ostermeier) etc.

Most small hydro seems to be geared towards charging batteries. However, if you are on-grid you should be able to use something like a Power-One Aurora inverter (http://www.solacity.com/PowerOne.htm) and feed energy back onto the grid for net-metering (these inverters are intended for wind power, but they can be programmed equally well to follow the power curve of a hydro generator).

This is not a lot, but hopefully it will give you something to get started with.

-RoB-

[Gary St.Onge]

Hi Mindy
To determine if your site is viable for a hydro turbine you must first know the head and flow of your water source.
You can go to my web site: http://www.hydro-turbines.com/id82.html and there is a page there about getting started. I suggest you consider the link at the bottom of the page for measuring head. That is a good place to start.
Regards
Gary