What You Should Know About Micro Hydroelectric Turbines
Micro hydroelectric turbines play important roles in the micro hydro-electric energy system. Without these turbines, then the hydro system will simply not work. It’s because the whole hydro-electric system is made up of a number of turbines and generators that are geared towards the production of mechanical and electrical energy.
In the general sense, the water turbines are actually rotary engines that are used to take the energy from mobbing water. In its most typical operations, the moving water is pushed into the blades of the turbine runner and this then creates the force on the blades. And because the runner is constantly spinning, the force then acts a distance. Thanks to this operation, the energy is moved from the water into the turbine.
Right now, the turbines whether the regular sized ones or the micro hydroelectric turbine can be categorized into two types. The first group includes the reaction turbines and the second group includes the impulse turbines.
The reaction turbines are those turbines that are acted on water, and these engines are known to change pressure as the water moves in the turbines and energy is given up. In order for these turbines to work effectively, the engines should be encased in order to preserve the water pressure or the suggestion is to make these turbines fully submerged.
The other group includes the impulse turbines. These are the turbines that can change the velocity of the water jet. The curved blades on the turbines are pushed on the jet, and this action is the one that changes the direction of the flow. The resultant change in force or the impulse is the one that puts a force on the blades of the turbines. And because the turbines are spinning, force is acted on a distance and the water flow that has been diverted is now with diminished energy. These are the most common used turbines in the industry now, and there are three basic kinds of the impulse-type of turbines. These are the pelton, the turgo and the cross-flow. The pelton-type is usually used for the thin stream or the low flow water that falls from a reasonable height. The turgo-type on the other hand is usually used for the immediate water flow and the cross-flow can be adjusted and can be varied.
In terms of size, there are available small and micro turbines as well that are used for micro hydro power generation.
The small turbines that are used in the industry are known to operate at less than 10 MW and these are known to have horizontal shafts.
But for the micro hydro water turbines, the power output is much smaller. There are commercial providers of these micro hydroelectric turbines and some of these are rated at 1300W. This turbine that can work with the micro turbine generator is an excellent choice for off-grid installations and work best if this is placed within 100 feet of the battery bank. Most of this micro turbine generator has the same power outputs, and the reasons why these are best for off-grid homes and communities.
And if you do some checks online, there is even a micro hydro turbine generator system that can produce 1000 watts of power with just 10 feet of head, and that is possible thanks to the Kaplan micro hydro turbine.