"Young, Scott" wrote: > > I do not wish to construct a dam or weir so I have been looking for > run-of-the river turbines. ... > > The only other unit I have seen that looks like it would work in my > small creek is the Aquair submersible. I recognize that it has very > limited output and that in terms of cost per kW produced it is rather > expensive. I have seen it discussed on occasion on our site but I have > some specific questions I would like to pose (again, I apologize because > some of these will be very simple for many of you, if not stupid on > occasion).
Scott, We have been using an Aquair submersible to supplement the power to our office for over two years now. It is a robust, reliable and easily installed unit. I will do my best to answer your questions in simple language based on personal experience. > Since my house is about 78 meters from the creek, if I install an > Aquair, should I use the 12 volt or the 24 volt model? > What gauge wire should I use to connect the Aquair to the house? > > >From what I have read, the Aquair produces AC current, not DC. Would I > still need an inverter, The Aquair has two identical AC generators running on a single shaft. The AC voltage and frequency depends on the site, but is always very different from the 120 VAC or 240VAC you want for running your appliances. The output of each generator is turned into to DC using a double rectifier pack that is supplied with the turbine. In a typical installation the rectifier pack is located close to the battery. Four wires run from the turbine to the rectifier pack (two from each generator). Typically, the output from the rectifiers are connected in parallel, and this then becomes the battery charging circuit. This circuit should be fused. A wiring diagram is supplied with the turbine. Alternatively the output from the rectifiers can be connected in series - this allows the 12V turbine to charge a 24V battery and 24V unit to charge a 48V battery. In our system, the turbine is about 110m from the battery and we use 2.9mm^2 cable [approx. AWG 12] and the losses are small. We have a 24V Aquair that charges a 12V battery through an AERL Hydromax controller, although there is no need for you to go to this level of sophistication. At your site I suggest a 24V unit to directly charge a 24V battery. You will get about 50W, assuming the 12km/h figure you have provided is correct. AWG 12 or AWG 11 sized cable will be adequate. Note that several Aquair turbines can be used a the one site to charge a single battery. > If the Aquair needs to run through a battery system first, how big > should the battery bank be? Battery sizing is a complex topic, but the actual values are not critical. It depends on the load profile and how it relates to the steady input of the turbine. The guiding principle is that the battery should be big enough so that it is seldom discharged below 50% of its capacity, but bigger than this is of limited benefit and not necessary. For an average household load profile, with a main evening peak and a lesser morning peak, I suggest you select a battery so that your average daily load equals 50% of the battery capacity using the 25 hour discharge rate. > > Would the power from the battery bank have to be run through another > inverter to convert it to AC for use in my house? You will need one inverter, to provide AC power from the battery. > In other words, could > the battery bank be used to feed power to the electric system in my > house so that it would simply offset some of the grid power when the > batteries were charged, Yes, in theory this is possible, but in practice unless you are generating at least 1 kW [i.e. 20 times more than you are likely to get] it is not worth the additional expense and complexity. Thus the most practical and simplest way is to keep the two supplies separate. > or, would the batteries have to be connected to > a specific item such as a water heater or an air heater and would this > device have to run on DC? The appliances can run either on DC directly from the battery or on AC using an inverter. You will generate enough power to run a computer, home entertainment system, a few lights and even a very small fridge. Perhaps you have a small self-contained hobby room or retreat that could be powered from the turbine independently of the main house. Regards, Max Enfield Planetary Power Since the power would be produced mainly in > the winter and spring, I would like to use it primarily to heat > something; I have a ground source heat pump to heat and cool the house > and it has a so-called "de-super heater" that already diverts some of > the heat to the water heater so maybe an air heater would be better??? > > If the power should be used directly in a device like an air heater, how > big a unit (in terms of watts) would be the best to use? > > What other questions should I have asked that I don't even know enough > to ask???? > > If anyone has any other suggestions for a different type of generator or > has had experience with an Aquair, I would be interested in the input. > > Many thanks for any help you can provide. I almost feel guilty taking > up your time since many of you are working on projects for people who > have no other source of power while this is a matter of interest, not > necessity, for me. > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > Does your company feature in the microhydro business directory at > http://microhydropower.net/directory ? If not, please register free of charge > and be exposed to the microhydro community world wide! > > NOTE: The advertisements in this email are added by Yahoogroups who provides > us with free email group services. The microhydro-group does not endorse > products or support the advertisements in any way. > > More information on micro hydropower at http://microhydropower.net > > To unsubscribe: send empty message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. 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