Can I really use hydro energy to power my home?
There are really very few people who would be able to take advantage of hydropower in their homes. A small stream simply isn’t going to be big enough to power even a micro hydro energy system but if you happen to be one of the very lucky few who have a reasonable size stream or waterway of any sort running through your land then hydro power is an excellent form of power and you should consider looking into it. It has one big advantage over any other sort of renewable energy you may be considering for your home. It will create power 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The wind may stop blowing and the sun might stop shining but the water will always keep flowing. You can get hold of micro hydro turbines that will work with as little as 2 feet of water drop but still may provide you with enough power for the whole year.
Cover all your bases with wind and solar.
Continue Reading…
Related posts
Micro hydro power is considered a very reliable and effective form of energy. But aside from what may be a long list of advantages, there are also some drawbacks associated with it that you will have to know before you construct a small hydro power system. Micro hydro can be a good method of getting renewable energy from small streams with just the right research and skills. What follows are some of the advantages and disadvantages of small scale water turbines.
One of the major advantages of a micro hydro power system is that it only takes a relatively small amount of flow or a drop that is as low as two feet to be able to generate electricity. This electricity can then be delivered as far as a mile away to the area where it is being used.
Continue Reading…
Related posts
In the 1950s and ’60s there was massive investment applied to the development of sites through the North of Scotland Highland Electricity Board – then it all stopped and very little has happened since. Now with rising energy costs and climate change issues there is a fresh interest in genuinely renewable energy. Wind power has received considerable attention – but now it is the turn of the water flowing down our rivers.
The potential for ‘Low-Impact’ Hydro in Scotland
On the 2nd September 2008 the Scottish Government published a report on the potential for small-scale hydro electricity generation in Scotland – the ‘Scottish Hydro Power Resource Study’. The report was commissioned by the Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland (FREDS) and funded by the Scottish Government. It reported there are some 1,000 sites in Scotland where commercially viable electricity could be generated producing a total of 657MegaWatt. (The associated press release can be found at the bottom of this article) Commercially viable is defined as plugging directly into the Grid and having a payback period of less than 15 years at 8% NPV. Continue Reading…
Related posts