Hydroelectric or Solar power for a cabin

[HogSlayer6]

I am looking to build a cabin on some remote acreage that I have. Its cost prohibitive to run the utilities to it and still have money to eat with so I am looking at some sort of hydroelectic or solar system to power this 16 by 16 cabin in the woods. I have a live stream with pretty good flow, just guessing about 50 gal. per minute and it moves pretty quickly. I can put the cabin anywhere but I am looking to build on the southeast side of an Ozarks Mountain spot where exposure to the sun should be almost optimal. I would prefer to build something myself as opposed to buy a COTS system. Call me tight or cheap or whatever but I am tired of giving away my money, the IRS is getting enough of my money. Anyone with thoughts on manufacturing a system out of automotive parts and such please contact me.

 

[excelagator]

RRL has built a self-contained solar system with generator back-up.

Hydro-electric linky Essential Spark - hydroelectric power producing utility, create hydroelectric own power, personal hydroelectric power, hydroelectric power, hydroelectric power plant, hydroelectric power generation,hydroelectric power station, home hydroelectric power

Dan

 

[Rob-D]

The best solution is by far hydro or in most of our cases microhydro power. A stream that runs year long with good flow will give you energy 24/7 and that's what you want.

Streams have two factors that determine the power they are capable of. Head and flow. Head is the height of the stream you are harnesssing. A pipe that runs 100 feet and drops 50 feet in that distance would give you 50' of head for instance.

Flow is the volume of water you have. You can measure this by timing how long it takes to fill a 5 gallon bucket for instance. Having both head and flow is a blessing. Most people don't. Head and flow will determine what type of system you can use to extract the water. For high head and lower flows pelton wheels work relatively well. For lower heads and higher flows the Banki wheel works well. You'll have to do some research but in the end it is the cheapest best form of energy you can ask for.

 

[Buckeye_Jim]

I agree with the others that hydo power is your best bet. Having an off grid system involves many considerations, but with a resource available 24/7, thats your best bet for development. Typically in off grid situations you would be looking at a propane refrigerator. New ones are costly. You can use hydro to spin an alternator generating DC current to charge a battery bank. An inverter will then give you AC power to run efficient AC appliances. I am pretty sure that you would be better off investing in high quality components down in the stream. That means staying away from automotive alternators.

I recommend you check out Home Power magazine at: Home Power Magazine - Your Small Scale Renewable Energy (RE) Source

Good Luck,

Jim

 

[tommu56]

read up on home power mag.

my cabin is 11 miles of dirt road (no winter maintance) with no acces to power
we have used gas frig lights and stove for the last 25 years and a generator as needed of course we have to carry water and you lucky to have it going right by. I would go with a little of both hydro and solar hydro penstock needs to be kepth clean (might be maintenanac problem) if you aren't there all the time solar is pretty much hands off except for battery watering but you need clear sight of the sun.

tommu56

 

[Slamfire]

A Banki turbine, while not so very efficient, is very low cost, and well suited to unskilled installation.
Here's a comprehensive site:
http://sleekfreak.ath.cx:81/3wdev/VITAHTML/SUBLEV/EN1/BANKITUR.HTM

 

[Rob-D]

I don't think the Michell/Banki is much less efficient then the pelton or turgo. It's just suited for low head / high volume better. It picks up efficiency because the water catches the blades on its exit out of the system too. If I remember efficiency runs about 75 to 80 percent.

I'm working on a design with 4 to 6 inch drain pipe where the water exiting out of the blades adds power from 100 feet of waste pipe and essentially draws the water out of the system. (I have a low head / medium volume stream.)

The downside of the Michell/Banki is slow rpms (also building the penstock is a lot of work). Peltons pick up velocity from the venturi more so then the Banki. My thinking is to design an alternator to fit the stream so optimum rpm is in the range of the alternator. So essentially the alternator has, say a 8 or 10" diameter (11" is max for my lathe), with more magnets (NdFeB three phase brushless 48 volts design in my case) so max output fits the stream without gearing and the resultant loss of efficiency.

Personally I don't like the peltons. You have to keep debris to a minimum, especially when you get down to the ¼ inch inlets and the wheels run several hundred dollars unless you cast your own. They are popular with high head / low volume builders and probably the best solution for that application.

 

[Highbeam]

Myself, I would just go solar and be done with it. A lot depends on how you want to use the power system but charging a battery bank during the day and then drawing from it direct for DC and through an inverter for AC would be plenty for a vacation cabin. The solar seems more self contained and you don't have to worry about the whole mess washing away. Grab a honda eu series generator for backup and enjoy your vacation.

I think a lot of this depends on how you want to use the power.

I helped set up a water wheel in a creek that spun an auto alternator which charged a battery used for an electric fence to keep horses in when I worked at an off-grid mountain camp. It worked well but we ran a PVC pipe up high to the spring to get sufficient energy.

 

[Rob-D]

I agree, you have to weigh all the factors. A remote cabin is a different story than your year round home. In a year round home nothing is better than good hydro. Even low output means something. A stream that puts out 200 WH 24/7 will give you 144KWH a month. Nothing to sneeze at!

But any mechanical system is going to be less reliable than solar panels. Todays electronics are first class in the dependability arena.

Least reliable, most work, is wind power. I love it but it's a pain in the butt. 200 lbs. sitting on an 80 foot high tower. what's wrong with this picture?

No wind for days then a storm comes in and if the lightning doesn't burn you out the wind will burn up the alternator, knock down the tower or if you're lucky the whole mess will just furl out of the wind and the brunt of the power you've been waiting for all month will be gone forever!

That's why solar panels usually win out. You have to be blessed by God to have a good stream and wind is, well, wind is a lot of wind!

 

[john_bud]

Around here any stream or creek with water is a "Class A Trout Stream" and protected. It also has automatic public access. I pretty much assumed that was the case most places. Guess I'm out of touch.
jb