Blogs

Blogs
What parts are needed in a wind power system?
<ul><li>Batteries (for off-grid and backup systems) provide energy storage for periods of calm or during utility grid outages.</li><li>A charge controller and/or voltage clamp take raw energy from a wind generator and condition it so it can charge batteries safely and effectively or interface with an inverter and the utility grid.</li><li>Disconnects and overcurrent protection provide safety from overloaded circuits and allow you to isolate different parts of the system.</li><li>A dump load is a place to divert excess energy in off-grid systems or when the utility grid is down, it’s windy, and your batteries are full.</li><li>An inverter converts direct current (DC) electricity to conventional household alternating current (AC) electricity, and it may “sell” surplus electricity to the utility grid.</li><li>Loads in a system are energy-using devices, such as lights, appliances, and other electricity users.</li><li>Metering gives you data display and logging so you can tell what your system is doing and whether it’s performing well.</li><li>A tower supports a wind generator, getting it up into the smooth, strong wind that’s needed to generate meaningful amounts of electricity.</li><li>Transmission wiring and conduit allow you to transfer energy from where it’s made to where it’s stored and used.</li><li>Wind generators (or turbines) collect the energy in the wind and use it to make electricity.</li></ul>
Blogs
What is microhydropower?
<div>Microhydropower can be one of the most simple and consistent forms or renewable energy on your property.</div><div><br></div><div>If you have water flowing through your property, you might consider building a small hydropower system to generate electricity. Microhydropower systems usually generate up to 100 kilowatts of electricity. Most of the hydropower systems used by homeowners and small business owners, including farmers and ranchers, would qualify as microhydropower systems. But a 10-kilowatt microhydropower system generally can provide enough power for a large home, a small resort, or a hobby farm.</div><div><br></div><div>A microhydropower system needs a turbine, pump, or waterwheel to transform the energy of flowing water into rotational energy, which is converted into electricity.</div><div><br></div><h3 style="font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">How a Microhydropower System Works</h3><div>Microhydropower System Components:</div><div><br></div><div>Run-of-the-river microhydropower systems consist of these basic components:</div><ul><li>Water conveyance -- channel, pipeline, or pressurized pipeline (penstock) that delivers the water</li><li>Turbine, pump, or waterwheel -- transforms the energy of flowing water into rotational energy</li><li>Alternator or generator -- transforms the rotational energy into electricity</li><li>Regulator -- controls the generator</li><li>Wiring -- delivers the electricity.</li></ul><div>Microhydropower system</div><div><br></div><div>Commercially available turbines and generators are usually sold as a package. Do-it-yourself systems require careful matching of a generator with the turbine horsepower and speed.</div><div><br></div><div>Many systems also use an inverter to convert the low-voltage direct current (DC) electricity produced by the system into 120 or 240 volts of alternating current (AC) electricity. (Alternatively, you can buy household appliances that run on DC electricity.)</div><div><br></div><div>Whether a microhydropower system will be grid-connected or stand-alone will determine many of its balance of system components.</div><div><br></div><div>For example, some stand-alone systems use batteries to store the electricity generated by the system. However, because hydropower resources tend to be more seasonal in nature than wind or solar resources, batteries may not always be practical for microhydropower systems. If you do use batteries, they should be located as close to the turbine as possible because it is difficult to transmit low-voltage power over long distances.</div>