Do-it-yourself hydroelectric power station: how to build an autonomous mini-hydroelectric power station

Conditions for the installation of a hydroelectric power plant

Despite the tempting cheapness of energy generated by a hydroelectric generator, it is important to take into account the characteristics of the water source, the resources of which you plan to use for your own needs. Indeed, not every watercourse is suitable for the operation of a mini-hydroelectric power station, especially year-round, so it does not hurt to have in reserve the ability to connect to a centralized main

After all, not every watercourse is suitable for the operation of a mini-hydroelectric power station, especially year-round, so it does not hurt to have the ability to connect to a centralized main in reserve.

A few pros and cons

The main advantages of an individual hydroelectric power station are obvious: inexpensive equipment that generates cheap electricity, and even does not harm nature (unlike dams that block the flow of a river).Although the system cannot be called absolutely safe, the rotating elements of the turbines can still injure the inhabitants of the underwater world and even people.

To prevent accidents, the hydroelectric plant must be fenced off, and if the system is completely hidden by water, a warning sign must be installed on the shore.

Advantages of a mini hydroelectric power station:

1. Unlike other "free" energy sources (solar panels, wind turbines), hydro systems can work regardless of the time of day and weather. The only thing that can stop them is the freezing of the reservoir.
2. To install a hydroelectric generator, it is not necessary to have a large river - the same water wheels can be successfully used even in small (but fast!) Streams.
3. Installations do not emit harmful substances, do not pollute water and work almost silently.
4. For the installation of mini-hydro power plants with a capacity of up to 100 kW, no permits are required (although everything depends on local authorities and the type of installation).
5. Surplus electricity can be sold to neighboring houses.

As for the shortcomings, insufficient current strength can become a serious obstacle to the productive operation of the equipment. In this case, it will be necessary to build auxiliary structures, which is associated with additional costs.

If the potential energy of a nearby river, with an approximate calculation, is not enough to generate electricity in an amount sufficient for practical use, it is worth paying attention to the methods of constructing wind turbines. The windmill will serve as an effective addition

Measuring the strength of the water flow

The first thing to do in order to think about the type and method of installing the station is to measure the speed of the water flow at the chosen source.

The easiest way is to lower any light object (for example, a tennis ball, a piece of foam plastic or a fishing float) onto the rapids and note the time it takes for it to swim the distance to some landmark with a stopwatch. The standard swim distance is 10 meters.

If the reservoir is far from home, you can build a diversion channel or pipeline, and at the same time take care of the height differences

Now you need to divide the distance traveled in meters by the number of seconds - this will be the speed of the current. But if the value obtained is less than 1 m / s, it will be necessary to erect artificial structures in order to accelerate the flow by height differences.

This can be done with the help of a collapsible dam or a narrow drain pipe. But without a good current, the idea of ​​​​a hydroelectric station will have to be abandoned.

Do-it-yourself mini hydroelectric power station

The design of the hydroelectric power station is quite complicated, so it will be possible to build only a small station on your own, which will save on electricity or provide energy to a modest household. Below are two examples of the implementation of a homemade hydroelectric power station.

How to make a mini hydroelectric power plant from a bicycle

This version of the hydroelectric power station is ideal for cycling trips. It is compact and lightweight, but it will be able to provide energy for a small camp set up on the banks of a stream or river. The resulting electricity is enough for evening lighting and charging mobile devices.

To install the station you will need:

• The front wheel of a bicycle.
• A bicycle generator that is used to power bicycle lights.
• Homemade blades. They are pre-cut from sheet aluminum. The width of the blades should be from two to four centimeters, and the length should be from the wheel hub to its rim.There can be any number of blades, they need to be placed at the same distance from each other.

To start such a station, it is enough to immerse the wheel in water. The immersion depth is determined experimentally, from about a third to a half of the wheel.

How to build a mini hydropower plant based on a water wheel

To build a more powerful station for permanent use, more durable materials will be needed. Metal and plastic elements are best suited, which are easier to protect from the effects of the aquatic environment. But wooden parts are also suitable if they are impregnated with a special solution and painted with waterproof paint.

The station requires the following items:

• Steel drum from the cable (2.2 meters in diameter). A rotor-wheel is made from it. To do this, the drum is cut into pieces and welded again at a distance of 30 centimeters. Blades (18 pieces) are made from the remnants of the drum. They are welded to the radius at an angle of 45 degrees. To support the entire structure, a frame is made from corners or pipes. The wheel rotates on bearings.
• A chain reducer is installed on the wheel (the gear ratio should be four). To make it easier to bring the drive and generator axles together, as well as to reduce vibration, the rotation is transmitted through the cardan from the old car.
• The generator is suitable for an asynchronous motor. Another gear reducer with a ratio of about 40 should be added to it. Then for a three-phase generator with 3000 revolutions per second, with a total reduction ratio of 160, the number of revolutions will decrease to 20 revolutions per minute.
• Place all electrical equipment in a waterproof container.

The source materials described are easy to find in a landfill or from friends. For cutting a steel drum with a grinder and for welding, you can pay specialists (or do everything yourself). As a result, a hydroelectric power station with a capacity of up to 5 kW will cost a small amount.

Getting electricity from water is not so difficult. It is more difficult to build an autonomous power supply system based on a home-made hydroelectric power station, maintain the station in working order and ensure the safety of people and animals around it.

Areas and benefits of application

An alternative to using oil stations is the use of compressor-type units. However, if we compare installations of these types, then hydraulic power plants for hydraulic drives have a number of advantages.

1. Due to the more compact dimensions of such equipment, much less money has to be spent on its transportation, installation and operation.
2. During the operation of hydraulic oil stations, much less energy is consumed, which also leads to a reduction in financial costs.
3. Oil stations, in comparison with compressor equipment, have higher productivity and efficiency of use.
4. The wide versatility that distinguishes such equipment allows you to connect it to devices of various types and capacities.
5. Compared to compressor equipment, oil stations emit significantly less noise during operation.
6. Due to the ease of use and maintenance, it is not necessary to attract specially trained highly qualified personnel to work with such equipment.

Pumping station as part of a hydraulic pipe bender

Naturally, hydraulic power plants are used to equip equipment on which a hydraulic drive is installed. In fact, with the help of such devices, it is possible to set in motion a mechanism for almost any purpose. That is why hydraulic type oil stations are successfully used in many areas. The technical capabilities and versatility of such devices allow them to be used for:

• hydraulic tools of static type;
• electrical installation equipment;
• hydraulic tools of dynamic type;
• railway and construction equipment;
• slurry pumps and pumps;
• drilling equipment;
• injection molding machines;
• press equipment;
• devices with the help of which they lift and move bulky and heavy loads;
• equipping test benches;
• technological equipment for various purposes.

Lathe oil station

Using hydraulic-type oil stations, they pump and purify oil, as well as lubricate and cool the working elements of equipment for various purposes. Quite actively, oil stations are used in cases where it is necessary to test pipeline systems, hydraulic equipment, hydraulic cylinders and various equipment.

If we talk about the areas of activity in which hydraulic oil stations are used most actively, then this should include:

• mechanical engineering;
• metallurgy;
• energy;
• construction;
• Agriculture;
• transport sector.

Looking for the right water

Recently, I saw a short video showing how in an ordinary Indian village, students from one of the Western colleges decided to make a mini hydroelectric power station.There is no electricity in that wilderness, young people are fleeing to the cities, but what will happen if you give the inhabitants light? There is no river as such in the village, but there is a reservoir. A natural bowl with a huge amount of water is located slightly above the level of the village. What did the students come up with?

They realized with their smart heads that since there is no current from Nature here, it can be created! By the hands of hired workers, a covered long pipe with a diameter of a meter was mounted, and one end of it was closed to a reservoir, and the other - below, went into a small and slow-moving river. Due to the height difference, the water from the reservoir rushed down the pipe, accelerating more and more, and at the exit a rather powerful stream was already created, which rested against the blades of the mini hydroelectric power station. The pipe, in which the water of the reservoir was enclosed, runs down the hillside so picturesquely that it seems as if a huge python slowly crawls from top to bottom and, with its size, inspires horror in the locals. I want to touch it with my hands, feel it, feel its power.

If something similar is being created in an Indian village, then why not try to do the same in a Russian one? If there is no fast-flowing river nearby, but there is a reservoir, then the construction of a mini hydroelectric power station is also possible. You just need to look at the terrain, but one thing is clear: the reservoir - let it be natural or artificial - should be located higher than the place where the hydroelectric power station will be installed. If the height difference is significant - even better! The flow of water will run stronger from top to bottom, which means that the possible power of the received electricity will increase.

It is not necessary to buy expensive pipes to organize artificial water flow. You can make a kind of gutter with your own hands, and let the water from the reservoir accelerate along it.To begin with, it is better to take any improvised means in general, old pipes, albeit of a small diameter for the time being, and build a trial version of draining water from a reservoir, which is located above. So it will be possible to measure the flow rate (I already wrote how to do this earlier). If a fast-moving river flows nearby, then there is no need to build either dams or gutters, or artificially create a flow of water. Mini HPPs in the form of a string, a propeller, a Dardieu rotor or a water wheel can be installed in such places without any problems.

It will be important to protect the building. How? In front of the mini hydroelectric power station, a protective screen made of mesh, or a diffuser, should be installed so that the fragments of trees floating along the river, or even whole logs, as well as live and dead fish, all kinds of garbage, do not fall on the turbine blades, but float past

Garland hydroelectric power station

This type of mini-hydroelectric power station is a cable stretched over the channel and fixed in a thrust bearing. On it, in the form of a garland, turbines of small size and weight (hydraulic rotors) are hung and rigidly fixed. They consist of two semi-cylinders. Due to the alignment of the axes, when lowered into the water, a torque is created in them. This leads to the fact that the cable bends, stretches and begins to rotate. In this situation, the cable can be compared to a shaft that serves to transmit power. One end of the rope is connected to the gearbox. Power is transferred to it from the rotation of the cable and hydraulic torches.

The presence of several "garlands" will help to increase the power of the station. They can be connected to each other. Even this does not greatly increase the efficiency of this HPP.This is one of the disadvantages of such a structure.

Another disadvantage of this type is the danger it creates for others. This kind of station can only be used in deserted places. Warning signs are mandatory.

Components of a mini hydroelectric power station

• Hydroturbine with blades connected by a shaft to a generator
• Generator. Designed to generate alternating current. Attached to the turbine shaft. The parameters of the generated current can be relatively unstable, but nothing like power surges occurs during wind generation;
• The hydroturbine control unit provides start-up and shutdown of the hydraulic unit, automatic synchronization of the generator when connected to the power system, control of the operating modes of the hydraulic unit, and emergency stop.
• The ballast load unit, designed to dissipate the currently unused power by the consumer, makes it possible to avoid the failure of the power generator and the monitoring and control system.
• Charge Controller / Stabilizer: Designed to control the charge of batteries, control the rotation of the blades and voltage conversion.
• Battery bank: a storage capacity, the size of which determines the duration of the autonomous operation of the object fed by it.
• Inverter, Inverter systems are used in many hydro generating systems. In the presence of a battery bank and a charge controller, hydraulic systems are not much different from other systems using renewable energy sources.

Mini PSP

In the middle of the last century, the British inventor Alvin Smith proposed an original design of a wave small pumped storage power plant. The installation is based on two floats capable of moving relative to each other.The upper one is swayed by waves, the lower one is connected to the seabed with the help of a chain and an anchor. Automatic adjustment of the height of the position of the upper float is provided depending on the sea level, which is constantly changing due to the tides, using a telescopic tube that expands and folds under the action of Archimedes forces and gravity. Between the floats is a "pumping station" (a cylinder with a double-acting piston that pumps water as it moves up and down). It supplies water to the land, to the mountains. In the mountains, they arrange a pool in which water accumulates and, during peak hours, is released back into the sea, rotating a water turbine along the way.

The plant is capable of lifting sea water to a height of up to 200 m and generating a power of 0.25 MW.

* * *

The natural conditions in Russia are very favorable for the development of small hydropower, and with the current level of availability of information and all kinds of materials, craftsmen can make mini-hydroelectric power plants even with their own hands, if there is a suitable river or stream. Therefore, small hydropower plants, as alternative energy sources, have every chance to become widespread again in our country.

Typical diagram of a hydroelectric power station

1. Tank
2. Pump
3. pressure filter
4. Suction filter
5. Drain filter
6. Safety valve
7. hydraulic valve

Tank

The hydraulic tank serves to store the working fluid circulating in the hydraulic system, release air from it and partially cool it. When designing the tank, normal conditions for suction and deaeration of the working fluid must be ensured.The dimensions and shape of the tank are closely related to the temperature regime in the hydraulic drive, since some part of the thermal energy released during the operation of the hydraulic system is transferred to the environment through the walls of the tank. During the production process, all tanks are subject to a mandatory leak test and subsequent painting using special technologies and materials that are resistant to hot oil. There is a visual level indicator to control the fluid level in the hydraulic tank. The fluid is drained through a drain hole or tap located at the bottom of the hydraulic tank. We have developed hydraulic tanks of various designs and sizes, which you can find in the corresponding section of the catalog.

Pump

Hydraulic pumps are power elements of a hydraulic drive that convert the mechanical energy of rotation of the drive shaft into hydraulic energy of the working fluid flow, which is supplied through pipelines to hydraulic motors. The most common type of pumping unit for pumping hydraulic fluid into the system is made on the basis of a gear pump. Operating pressure range from 2 to 310 bar, capacities from 0.5 to 100 l/min (standard range of pumps) and above 100 l/min. up to 5000 l/min. (supplied on request). Such solutions are widely used in mobile and industrial technology. The next type of pumping units is with vane pumps. This type of pump provides a more uniform flow compared to gear pumps and greater productivity. The operating pressure range is somewhat lower and rarely exceeds 160 bar (the imported industry produces pumps for 210 or more bar).Vane pumps can be produced as single- and double-flow, with fixed and adjustable capacity, as well as through shaft for installation of an additional pump, for example, gear. This type of pump is common in machine tool building and hydraulic drives for a wide range of applications. Pump sets with axial piston pumps are characterized by their compactness and the resulting minimum weight. Due to the use of working bodies with small radial dimensions and, consequently, a relatively small moment of inertia, in such machines the possibility of rapid speed control is realized. In addition, the advantages of axial piston pumps include the ability to operate at high pressure (up to 400 bar) and high efficiency values ​​(up to 95%). Among the disadvantages of machines of this type, one should note the solid cost, the complexity of the design, as well as a significant feed pulsation. Axial piston pumps are most widely used in hydraulic drives of machines operating in medium and heavy modes of external loads with a high switching frequency. It is possible to manufacture units with 2-3 in-line pumps driven by one electric motor, which makes it possible to reduce the dimensions of the system and use various combinations of performance and pressure in solving a wide range of problems.

Advantages and disadvantages of microhydropower

The advantages of a mini hydro for a home include:

• Ecological safety (with reservations for fish-fry) of the equipment and the absence of the need to flood large areas with enormous material damage;
• Ecological cleanliness of the energy received. There is no effect on the properties and quality of water. Reservoirs can be used both for fishery activities and as sources of water supply for the population;
• The low cost of the generated electricity, which is several times cheaper than that generated at thermal power plants;
• Simplicity and reliability of the equipment used, and the possibility of its operation in stand-alone mode (both as part of and outside the power supply network). The electric current generated by them meets the requirements of GOST in terms of frequency and voltage;
• The full service life of the station is at least 40 years (at least 5 years before overhaul);
• inexhaustibility of the resources used to generate energy.

The main disadvantage of micro-hydro is the relative danger to the inhabitants of the aquatic fauna, because. rotating turbine blades, especially in high-speed currents, can pose a threat to fish or fry. A conditional disadvantage can also be considered the limited use of technology.

About the types of mini hydroelectric power plants

Small hydropower is developing today, and this is an excellent solution for saving energy resources. A generator for a mini-hydroelectric power station can be purchased at the store, or you can make it yourself.

In total, there are several options for manufacturing SHPPs:

1. Water wheel. It is a large drum with blades placed between round surfaces. Installed perpendicular to the flow of water. Immersed in water about half the width of the blade.Turbine wheel designs are available with blades designed for a given flow of water, but these designs are complex and are best purchased from a store.
2. Rotor Daria. A mini-hydroelectric power plant of this kind is equipped with a mechanism having an axis of rotation located vertically. Used to convert electricity. Due to the flow of fluid between the structural elements, pressure is created. The effect of her work is reminiscent of seaworthy hydrofoils. This principle is applied in the design of wind turbines.
3. Garland hydroelectric power station. On the cable, located perpendicular to the river, light turbines are placed, resembling garlands in appearance. The cable performs the function of a shaft, and the movement of rotation is transmitted to the generator. The flow created by the water drives the rotors, and the rotors help spin the cable.
4. Propeller. The rotor is located vertically, as in the designs of power plants powered by wind, and plays the role of a propeller. Unlike the air device, the blades of this device have a small width, and their size can be as little as 2 cm. This will ensure high rotation speed and minimal resistance. With large high-speed water flows, other sizes can also be used. The movement of the propeller is provided by the force of the rise of the water, and not by its pressure. It can be compared to an airplane wing. The movement of the blades, relative to the flow, is perpendicular, and not along the flow of water.

Portable hydroelectric power station is convenient to use, their designs are simple.

Advantages of a mini hydroelectric power station

Small hydropower plants have a number of advantages:

• mini hydro turbine operates quietly, without noise;
• there are no emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere during operation;
• does not affect the quality characteristics of water in any way;
• does not depend on external conditions;
• small hydroelectric power plants generate energy during the day uninterruptedly;
• even a small stream can be used to ensure work;
• if there is a surplus of energy, it can be sold and receive income;
• to ensure the generation of energy by hydroelectric power plants, it is not necessary to issue a permit.

Today, small hydropower plants in Russia enjoy unprecedented popularity. They are easy to make yourself, or you can buy them in the store. Small hydropower is a profitable business.

Flaws

Along with the advantages, small hydropower plants have some disadvantages:

1. A garland small hydroelectric power station carries a danger to others: the moving parts are hidden in the water, the cable is long.
2. Low efficiency.
3. Rotor Daria. This water generator is difficult to manufacture.

Small HPPs are recommended to be installed after weighing all the positive and negative sides

It is important to make the right choice: what kind of design to make so that the effect of the work is ensured

Mini hydroelectric power station for a private house

Rising electricity tariffs and lack of sufficient capacity make relevant questions about the use of free renewable energy in households. Compared to other renewable energy sources, mini hydropower plants are of interest, since with equal power with a windmill and a solar battery, they are able to produce much more energy in an equal period of time. A natural limitation on their use is the lack of a river

If a small river flows near your house, a stream, or there are elevation changes on lake spillways, then you have all the conditions for installing a mini hydroelectric power station.The money spent on its purchase will quickly pay off - you will be provided with cheap electricity at any time of the year, regardless of weather conditions and other external factors.

The main indicator that indicates the efficiency of the use of SHPPs is the flow rate of the reservoir. If the speed is less than 1 m/s, then it is necessary to take additional measures to accelerate it, for example, make a bypass channel of variable cross section or organize an artificial height difference.

Further, the power required by the farm and the geometric features of the channel are determined. All these indicators are taken into account when choosing the type and design of the installed micro-hydro power plant.