Hydro Electric for central heating

pablo21

I've just got my solar Tube system up and running and so far I'm very impressed. On dull days its capable of heating all my water! THis is only over a short timespan so lets see what its like later in the year! What I'd ike to look into is using the mill race behind my house to generate electricity to heat my central heating. I havent taken any measurements yet but it runs two turbines (Large scale) upstream from me so I'm assuming it should be o.k. to drive a small generator. I'd love to talk to anyone that might have any experience with such a setup! I look forward to your suggestions!

Victor

Its down to the height and the flow of water. While it is more controllable than wind, you may find that power is really dependant on rain fall.

If you think its up to it, the ESB have lots of people contributing modest, but real amounts to the grid.

pablo21

THanks for the support Victor. I'm looking for a little more detail though, maybe someone who has been through the "mill" so to speak. I believe there are "In Stream" generators that require little or no head as long as there is a good flow.

Capt'n Midnight

any idea what the flow rate is ?

cross section area x speed ?

1KWhr = 3,600,000 joules
1 Joule = one litre of water falling one metre
of course you may only get half this due to ineffencies


during WWII the Swiss used hydroelectric to power heaters in the boilers of steam engines



or you could look at a heat storage system, but the mill would be better for winter

Pembily

Made a hydro electric power station on a very small scale as a project for college!!!

Do you have access to regular steady flowing water, the higher the flow rate the better the return on the power will be...

Dont have all my figures to hand but if you have any particular questions i can check them out!!!

It is a good source of electricity if you have a steady decent flow of water...

probe

Aside from the flow-rate and generation capacity of your hydro resource, I'd consider using air conditioning inverter heat exchangers to provide heat and dehumidification. Ireland is one of the dampest countries on the planet, and much of the cold one feels is from dampness (in the same way as 40C in 90% humid Miami feels far hotter compared with 40C in the Pyrenees in summer, where it might be 30% humidity). With traditional heating in Ireland, you are wasting a lot of energy drying the damp air, where an air con device could do the job far more efficiently.

Heat pumps provide 3 to 4 X the heat from the electricity - making the raw energy cost as cheap or cheaper than gas (even under rip-off-Ireland ESB tariffs).

Check out www.daikin.eu (a bit more info the last time I checked compared with www.daikin.ie). Daikin is the largest manufacturer in Japan. Their systems don't require any land for underground pipes etc. There are lots of other brands selling similar inverter kit. I've found Daikin quiet and to deliver good air quality in a room.

quentingargan

pablo21 wrote: »

THanks for the support Victor. I'm looking for a little more detail though, maybe someone who has been through the "mill" so to speak. I believe there are "In Stream" generators that require little or no head as long as there is a good flow.

The attachment is a manual for the low head Stream Engine. I have their high head one working at home - its a great machine. There is a bit of engineering work to do with the low head version though... Read and see what you think. Q

bonkey

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

1 Joule = one litre of water falling one metre

Not that its entirely relevant to the discussion, but I thought 1 litre of water (i.e. 1kg) falling 1 metre gave 1kg * 9.8m/s^2 * 1m = 9.8J

Capt'n Midnight

bonkey wrote: »

Not that its entirely relevant to the discussion, but I thought 1 litre of water (i.e. 1kg) falling 1 metre gave 1kg * 9.8m/s^2 * 1m = 9.8J

The point being that it takes a LOT of water flowing to heat water as it takes roughly 4,200 joules per degree per litre

Ezekiel 45:11


A dehumidifier is definitely worth looking at too.

powerfarmer

Have a look at this link ,its about a magazine devoted to renewable energy, it is US based but should provide some inspiration,
http://www.homepower.com/home/



its an interesting project your looking at.

pablo21

Wow! Thanks for all the brilliant advice! I havent been here in a week or so, and I'm only catching up now! Well heres a little more detail... the river flowing through my garden is actually a "Mill race" i.e. its the output from a mill where there are two generators allready running generating electricity!! The race is about 15 or 20 feet wide and appears to be quiet fast flowing although I haven't done any formal measurements. So long story short, I wouldnt be able to damn it up to increase the head, I'll just be able to make use of the in stream benefits of the fast flowing water. A few of you are probably thinking like I am now and asking why I dont run a cable out to next door and take adavntage of the ESB being generated there! I have thought of it! ;-) I'm based in westmeath so if any of you knowledgeable are passsing through please get in touch and I'll show you where it is! I might take a few pics and maybe a video this eveing and post it up here for your opinions! Thanks again for all your inputs!