Small Water Wheel in Motion

Generating Electricity from Swift Flowing Stream

If you’re lucky enough to have access to a stream that runs all year round then you can generate a surprising amount of energy 24 hours a day, 365 days a year!

To make it work you also need to be able to create a head of water, it works best if where the stream runs down a gentle decline.

It’s normal to divert part of the stream away from the main body using a sluice gate mechanism. This is an important feature that allows you to isolate your water turbine if the stream floods or for maintenance.

You should limit the amount of water you divert into your system to a maximum of 20% of the volume of the stream. This will minimise the impact of your project on the environment.

Use A Traditional Water Wheel System

As you can see in the image above it’s easy to derive a significant amount of energy by using your diverted stream to turn a wheel. The outer edge is fitted with paddles, cups or buckets so that the passing water can drive it round.

The mass of the wheel and the velocity of the water are converted into a massive amount of high torque rotational energy. This energy can easily be transmitted using a set of gears or drive belts to drive an electric generator at relatively high speed to create a significant amount of electrical power.

As with solar panels and wind turbines this power can be used to provide a direct supply of electricity to your home or office and also charge a bank of deep cycle batteries for times when additional power is required.

The great thing about this traditional method is that it is fairly immune to blockage by debris in the flowing water, although it’s very wise to have a grill in place in the diverted stream to filter out large waterborne detritis!

On the downside it is much larger than a modern water turbine system and requires some fairly heavy construction to get it up and working.

Use a Modern Water Turbine System

An alternative method is to send your diverted stream into a pipe and fit a small water turbine to the bottom of the pipe. A water turbine is like the screw propeller from an marine outboard motor which turns a drive shaft in line with the flow of the water. The drive shaft is used to drive an electric generator.

Modern water turbines are up to 90% efficient and extremely compact. Again the output can be significant and could easily power a home or small office.

On the downside, a water turbine requires a completely clean supply of water. Any debris in the flowing water will jam the turbine and may also cause damage to the blades and bearings.

Generating Electricity from Swift Flowing Stream

If you are blessed with a fast flowing stream on your property then a huge amount of energy is there at your disposal. Is it time you made the most of it? If you have a photo of your own water turbine then please post a comment and attach your picture!

Solar Powered Garden Lamp

My 5 Favourite Things Powered by the Sun

Solar powered gadgets can sometimes be gimmicky and frivolous but at least they’re not wasting energy!

Of course there is still the question of just how much energy was used in their production and whether they ever pay back that energy.

The solar powered garden lamp pictured left is a perfect example to consider, it looks about 95% plastic with a bit of electronics in there too. I know from experience that they don’t last very long, either the rechargeable batteries pack up or they get broken… So the question is do they even save the energy it took to produce them in their lifetime? Maybe not… they are fun though!

Here’s a list of things powered by the sun that I’ve found lying around on the Internet…

1. 1. Solar Powered Sun-Bricks
   What a fantastic way to light up your pathway or patio. Read this original post about them http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2006/08/01/light-things-up-with-solar-powered-sun-bricks
2. 2. Sun and Wind Powered Boat
   Here’s Alcatraz Cruises setting a good example to other commercial operations with their eco-friendly ferries http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/01/20/hornblower-hybrid-by-alcatraz-cruises
3. 3. Solar Powered Road Signs
   These are brilliant, just think how much energy is saved when a sign runs on it’s own power, not only is it taking zero energy from the grid but all the energy used in running a power cable to it along miles of highway is also saved! Read this article  on treehugger.com

   http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/12/solar-powered_t_1.php

4. 4. Solar Powered Cats-Eyes (Road Studs)
   Ok these aren’t as efficient as the original cats eyes which required no electronics whatsoever but I still like them.
   http://www.just-auto.com/article.aspx?id=94702
5. 5. Solar Powered Garden Fountains
   The sound of running water works in almost any garden, I don’t why, it just does… but if you have to do it at least do the world a favour and use a self-powered solar energy fountain like this one…
   http://energybazaar.com/coppersolarfountain.aspx

There are more things powered by the sun than I have time to list but these things all make so much sense in such very different ways.

Leave a comment, tell me what your favorite solar powered gadget is…